Marauders: Year Two
by kazoquel4
Summary: It's the Marauder's second year at Hogwarts, and they're back and better than ever! This year will be full of pranks, fights, jokes, Quidditch, and some big discoveries... Join Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James for another year at our favorite wizarding school. Will Remus be able to hide his secret for another year? *Sequel to Marauders: Year One*
1. The Potter's Residence

**Chapter 1: The Potter's Residence**

"Disgrace to the family…" the house elf muttered under his breath, shooting hateful glances at the lanky teen sprawled across the couch.

"Ah, shut it, Kreacher," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. He brushed his hair back from his face and glanced at the clock on the mantle. "Come on," he muttered. "Ten more minutes…"

"SIRIUS!"

Sirius groaned as his mother screamed from another room, stomping into where her son was lounging on the sofa.

"Sirius Black, I instructed you to clean the kitchen!" Mrs. Black snapped, her eyes flashing.

Sirius sat up, coolly raising an eyebrow. "We have a house elf right there," he said, jerking his thumb towards Kreacher. "I dunno why you keep making me do the work around here-"

"It's so you will earn some respect," Mrs. Black said, shooting an icy glare at him, "and perhaps some obedience while you're at it. You've been horrible this past year; honestly, _Gryffindor! _What _were _you thinking?"

"The Sorting Hat did it, Mum," Sirius said with a sigh. "But even if I had had a choice, I wouldn't choose to be put in Slytherin. Slimy snakes, the lot of them," he muttered.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Black asked in a dangerous tone of voice.

"I said, everyone in Slytherin are evil, prejudiced, slithery little snakes, just like you!" Sirius shot at his mother.

Mrs. Black opened her mouth to scream at him, but was interrupted as the clock chimed noon, the sound ricocheting around the room and making Kreacher wince.

Sirius leapt up, his excitement rekindled. "Noon!" he said excitedly, reaching over to grab the end of his trunk. "That's my cue!" He hurried over to the fireplace, quickly grabbing a handful of powder from a pot resting on a table.

"Sirius, don't you dare!" Mrs. Black screeched. "I'm not finished with you!"

"Good riddance!" Sirius cheered, throwing the powder in the fireplace. Emerald green flames spouted from the hearth, and Sirius leapt into them. "POTTER MANOR!" he shouted, dragging his trunk after him.

He could hear Mrs. Black shouting behind him, "SIRIUS ORION-" but she was cut off as he started spinning away Grimmauld Place.

Clutching onto his trunk, Sirius squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to be sick. Oh, he had always loathed Floo travel. Even after using it for years, it still made him feel as if he was going to throw up. Sirius couldn't wait until he learned to Apparate; it seemed much more efficient than traveling by fireplace. And, it was probably cleaner, judging by the soot spraying into Sirius' face.

The world stopped spinning. Sirius stumbled out of the fireplace coughing and spluttering, trying to rub the black stuff out of his eyes. He sneezed, dropping his trunk to cover his nose.

"SIRIUS!"

"Oof!"

Sirius toppled over as something came barreling into him like a train. He crashed back onto the hard wood floor, banging his elbow on the table.

"Ouch! James! Get _off!_"

Smiling sheepishly, James sat back up, straightening his glasses. "Sorry, mate."

"That _hurt,_" Sirius hissed, rubbing his elbow.

"Ah, toughen up," James said with a grin, climbing to his feet. He held out his hand to help Sirius up. "You have no idea how much I've missed you," James immediately said.

Sirius snorted. "You? It's been absolute hell trapped in that house! I was there for a _month, _James!"

"I invited you over earlier," James complained.

"My parents are intent on keeping me unhappy," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "So of course, they made me wait until holidays were halfway over. You're just lucky you're pureblood, or else they wouldn't have allowed me at all."

"No offense, Sirius, but your family members are prats."

"Don't I know it!" Sirius exclaimed, breaking into a smile.

"James? Is your friend here?" called a voice from another room.

"Yeah, he's in here!" James shouted back.

There was a scuffling before Mrs. Potter swept out, a wide smile plastered onto her face. "You must be Sirius," she said kindly.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter," Sirius said politely, smiling back.

Sirius knew he had to make a good first impression. He knew what people thought about him and his family, and he heard what they whispered behind his back. _The Black in Gryffindor. _Yeah, he knew all about making good first impressions.

"Well, James will show you to your room," Mrs. Potter said, sweeping back stray strands of her dark brown hair. "If you're hungry, feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Dinner will be served around five o'clock." Her eyes twinkled. "It's wonderful to have you here," she said, smiling again.

"It's wonderful to be here, thank you," Sirius said.

Mrs. Potter beamed at the two before turning and heading back out of the room.

"I have never seen you be so polite," James snickered as soon as his mother was out of the room.

"Stuff it," Sirius muttered, sticking his tongue out at his friend.

"Come on, you're sleeping over here," James said, taking one end of Sirius' trunk and helping him lift it.

"Your mom's nice," Sirius said as the two boys hefted the trunk down the hall.

"She's alright," James said. "A bit overbearing sometimes, but most moms are." He kicked open a door, dragging the trunk inside. "This is the guest room," he said, gesturing around.

It was a very large room, with thick shag carpeting. The walls were a pale red, and there were two beds set up on opposite sides of the room. A big, bulky dresser stood on the right wall, and Sirius spotted a door that he guessed must lead to a bathroom.

"Nice," Sirius said, nodding in appreciation. Then he turned to James. "Thanks, mate," he said sincerely. "My house is terrible."

"Don't mention it," James said. "But, seriously," he said, shutting the door and flopping down on the bed. "How are you?"

"So and so," Sirius muttered, sitting down next to his friend. "My parents keep drilling me on pureblood codes and whatnot, I'm not sure. It's like they think if they say it enough times, it will magically change me into their image of a perfect son. But they already have one; my brother Regulus is like their little minion. He was following me around all summer, asking about Hogwarts and being annoying. He went on and on about how he wanted to be in Slytherin; it was horrible! I can't believe those people are related to me. Sometimes I just want to strangle them."

James shook his head. "You'd better not turn into their perfect son," he warned, eyebrows raised.

Sirius shivered. "Ew, mental picture!" he said.

The two burst out laughing, and the mood considerably lightened.

Sirius laid back on the covers. "So, when are Remy and Pete getting here?" he asked, smirking.

"Remus is coming in two weeks," James said, "but Peter couldn't make it."

Sirius frowned. "What? Why?"

"His parents want him to spend the entire summer with him because they barely see him over the year," James said.

Sirius sighed. "Tough luck."

"Yeah," James said. Then he brightened. "But Remus is coming in two weeks!"

"But that's so long," complained Sirius. "Why are you so happy?"

"Cause we can investigate why he disappears every month, duh," James said, rolling his eyes. "And people call you the smart one," he muttered.

"Well I'm sorry, but I- wait, what? People call me the smart one?!" Sirius let out a whoop, fist-pumping the air.

"Nah, I was joking. You're the idiot of the group," James said, smirking.

Sirius deflated, shoving James. "Jerk," he muttered.

James toppled off the bed, landing hard on the ground. "Ouch!" he said.

"Payback," Sirius pointed out, feeling the bruise forming on his elbow.

"Why did I invite you here…?" James muttered, running a hand through his hair.

* * *

"Okay, let's see," James said, tapping his chin with a quill thoughtfully. "Remus disappeared once a month the entire year. He kept trying to make excuses, saying that his mum was sick. But we know that isn't true now, so he was obviously lying to us. What is he hiding?"

"I dunno," Sirius said, picking at the bedspread.

James sighed. "I was thinking out loud, Sirius. You don't have to answer me."

Sirius shrugged. "Hey, you asked a question, I answered it. Sue me."

"Alright."

"Sarcasm, James, sarcasm." Sirius grabbed the parchment from James, glancing at the clues they had written down so far. "Hey," he said, a frown crossing his face, "have you noticed that the days before and after he leaves he always seems sick?"

"And angry," James said, nodding. "But that can't have anything to do with his disappearances, can it? I mean, what could be so bad it changes his behavior?"

Sirius groaned, throwing his head back. "_I _don't know," he said. "I'm not the smart one, remember?"

"Maybe we could chart the days he disappeared," James continued thoughtfully, completely ignoring Sirius.

"Do you remember every single date he disappeared on?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well- no," James admitted. "Do you?"

Sirius snorted. "You're joking, right?"

"We'll just have to graph them this year, then," James said to himself. "Maybe there's, I don't know, a pattern or something in the days he leaves on."

"A pattern?" Sirius asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, that could be it," James mumbled thoughtfully.

"What's the point of me being here? You're just ignoring me!" Sirius snapped.

"Or maybe he's- OOF! Sirius, what was that for?" James asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"I was sick of you ignoring me," Sirius huffed. "You were just going on and on, not even listening to a word I was saying-"

"Sirius," James tried to say.

"-and I mean, it's rather rude, don't you think? It's like I didn't even exist or something-"

"Sirius!" James said.

"-and you just kept talking and- OW!"

"Now you're ignoring me," James said, rolling his eyes.

Sirius sighed. "Okay, whatever. We're both horrible people."

"Agreed!" James said. "Now, come on, let's go to the backyard! I have to practice if I'm going to make the Quidditch team this year!"

* * *

**A/N: Hello, my friends!**

**It feels so good to be able to put up their second year. It's like a fresh start, you know? I have big, BIG plans for this year, so make sure you keep reading! This will be the year that changes everything… :3**

**Sorry if this chapter was a little bleh, I just have to get the story started. Then we will be on our way!**

**Thanks for all the fantastic reviews from Year One, it really inspired me to put this up! And it didn't take too long either, yay. **

**I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter of their second year! There will be many, many more to come!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	2. Basketball

**Chapter 2: Basketball**

"James, Sirius, can you be still for one minute?" Mrs. Potter asked, exasperatedly pinching the bridge of her nose.

James glanced up from the kitchen table, where he and Sirius were using spoons to flick carrots at each other.

"Where's the fun in that?" he asked, grinning.

Two weeks had passed very quickly for Sirius and James. They had spent the days playing Quidditch, thinking of new prank ideas, and brainstorming things to put on their 'Remus List'.

Despite the fact that the two were an explosion waiting to happen, Mr. and Mrs. Potter had grown rather fond of Sirius, and Mrs. Potter already treated him like a second son. Sirius was overjoyed to be away from his family, and used his newfound freedom to complain about them in loud voices to anyone who would listen.

"Hey, what time is Remus getting here?" Sirius asked, aiming a carrot at James.

"11:00," James said, dodging the flying vegetable. "So fifteen minutes."

"It's 10:45 already?" Sirius asked, looking surprised.

"You slept in until 10:15," James said dryly.

Sirius grinned. "I was tired."

"Sure you were," James said, ducking as Sirius chucked a carrot at him.

"Perhaps you two should _eat _the carrots?" Mrs. Potter suggested.

"I would, Mrs. P, but I'm too busy trying to hit your son with them," Sirius said apologetically.

Seeing his window of opportunity, James flicked a carrot at Sirius. The projectile hit the teen in the eye, causing him to jump and hit the plate of carrots. It clattered to the floor, spilling the food everywhere.

"OUCH! James, that was my eye!" Sirius yelled, clapping a hand over his eye.

"Ha!" James cheered. He tossed his spoon in the air. "Victory is mine!" he crowed.

"Git," Sirius muttered.

"Alright, boys," Mrs. Potter said, a smile playing on her lips. "You've had your fun; now pick up the carrots."

"But _Mum-_" James protested.

"But nothing, James. You made the mess, you clean the mess. Pick up the carrots," his mother ordered sternly, pointing at the ground.

Groaning, the two boys got down on their hands and knees and started searching around for carrots.

"This is all your fault," James muttered.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "My fault? If you hadn't thrown that carrot at me-"

"We were having a _carrot war, _why wouldn't I-"

"It hit me in the _eye_-"

"You should have been expecting it-"

Sirius threw a carrot at his friend.

"Ow!" James said, rubbing his cheek.

"You should have been expecting it_,_" Sirius said in a sing-song voice.

James glared at him. "I'm going to murder you," he growled.

"In front of your mum?" Sirius asked, smirking.

James opened his mouth to retort, then paused. "I'm going to murder you _later,_" he corrected.

"Good boy," Sirius said, patting James on the head. Ignoring his friend's outraged look, he scooped up a handful of carrots and stood up.

"Thank you, Sirius, dear," Mrs. Potter said, beaming at him. "Come on, James, it's nearly 11; you two can go to the parlor and wait for Remus. He'll be arriving by Floo."

James scrambled to his feet and the two friends ran out of the kitchen.

"No running!" Mrs. Potter called after them.

Sirius and James crashed down the hall, shoving each other and laughing. Each of them tried to gain the upper hand and beat his friend, but they were both neck in neck… until, that is, they both tripped.

The two boys tumbled to the ground, tripping over each other. They landed in a tangle of limbs, spread-eagled across the hall.

"Ouch! Sirius, your foot is in my face!"

"Your face is in my foot!" Sirius snapped, trying fruitlessly to untangle himself from James.

"Oh yeah, blame it on the foot," James muttered, reaching one hand up to fix his glasses.

There was a whooshing sound from the parlor. James and Sirius froze, listening intently as someone coughed in the other room.

'_Burglar_' Sirius mouthed to James. James rolled his eyes.

"James? Sirius? Er… anyone?" came a quiet voice from the other room.

"It's Remus!" James cried, yanking himself out from under Sirius and scrabbling to his feet. Leaving his friend shouting behind him, he threw open the door of the parlor and sprinted inside. "Remus!" he shouted.

The sandy haired boy jumped slightly, surprised by the sudden shouts. He whirled around only to be tackled by a boy with deep hazel eyes. Letting out a light laugh, Remus gave James a quick hug back before pushing him off.

"It's nice to see you too, James," Remus chuckled.

Suddenly, the door flew open again. "Remy!" Sirius shouted, launching himself at his friend.

"Here we go again," was all Remus had time to say before he was engulfed in the second hug of that day. "Ouch- Sirius- choking- me-" he gasped as Sirius squeezed him.

"Sorry," Sirius said sheepishly, pulling back. "I just missed you."

"I missed you too," Remus said, taking a deep breath to get back the air Sirius had taken from him.

"A month and a half is _way _too long," James agreed, peering at his friend from behind his glasses. Sirius did the same thing, secretly inspecting Remus without making a comment.

"Hey, Remus, you feel alright? You look kinda pale," Sirius said, frowning as he looked at the young werewolf.

"I'm fine," Remus said, waving him off. "I just hate Floo travel."

While that was a very true fact, that wasn't the only reason Remus was a bit discolored on that day. The full moon had only been two days ago, and he was still recovering. Mrs. Lupin had been doubtful on sending him to the Potter's so soon after he had had his transformation, but Remus had been adamant on seeing his friends. Corresponding only through letters just wasn't the same as being with his… _odd _dorm mates. He missed them, despite the ups and downs they had been through; and he definitely agreed that a month and a half was far too long for them to be apart.

"I do too," Sirius said sympathetically. "I mean, who's idea was it to travel through a _fireplace_? Kind of silly if you ask me."

"How else would you travel, through toilets?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius' face lit up. "That would be _awesome_! Like, you had to flush yourself down to get where you're going. We should totally invent that!"

"Yeah! Toilet Travel!" James said in a deep voice, putting his hands on his hips in a heroic manner.

Remus rolled his eyes, a smile creeping onto his face. Sure, they were nuts, but he had missed them.

"Remus?"

The boys glanced to the doorway where Mrs. Potter stood, peeking in. When she saw the third addition to their group, she beamed.

"Oh, Remus! It's so nice to see you!" She swept into the room and wrapped Remus in a hug, squeezing him tightly.

"Hello, Mrs. Potter," Remus said, briefly wrapping his arms around the woman.

Mrs. Potter pulled back, holding Remus at arm's length and staring down at the boy. "Remus, you're white as a board!" she scolded, taking in the boys' complexion. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Are you… _ill_?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Mrs. Potter," Remus assured her. "I'm just recovering from a little cold, is all; that's probably why I'm a bit pale," he said, hoping she would get the message he was trying to send.

Realization dawned on Mrs. Potter's face, and she smiled gently. "Of course, dear, I understand. Now, come on, I'll get you something to drink," she said, taking the boys' wrist and pulling him out the door. Remus glanced behind at his friends as he went, glaring as they stifled snickers at him.

When the pair was gone, the grin died from James' face. He turned to Sirius, frowning. "My mum knows what's going on with Remus!" he exclaimed.

Sirius blinked, surprised. "She does?"

James rolled his eyes. "Yes, you twat. Obviously, she knows. Did you see how secretive they were acting? It was like they had a secret code or something."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Now that you mention it… yeah, I see what you're taking about," he said, his mouth curving downward. "That's not fair!"

"I know," James sighed, "but whatever. We'll add it to the list, yes?"

Sirius agreed. "You know, we're not going to have much time to work on the list, what with Remus being here and all," he reminded his friend.

James waved him off. "We'll find time. Besides, all we need right now is to watch Remus…" he said, a mischievous smile creeping onto his face once more.

* * *

"Ugh, I'm _bored_," Sirius said, leaning back in his seat and letting out a long groan.

"You're always bored, Sirius," Remus sighed.

"That's cause there's nothing interesting to do," Sirius replied stubbornly. "James, what do you do around your house?"

"We've already done everything," James said, tapping the glass on the fishbowl in the living room. The goldfish inside frantically swam away from James' finger, darting in between some rocks to hide.

"Hey, we should go fishing!" Sirius said, sitting up excitedly and looking around at his two friends.

"That's a great idea!" James replied enthusiastically. "If- you know… there was any water around here," he finished in a morose voice, turning back to the fish tank.

Sirius huffed, crossing his arms and siting back. "You're no _fun_," he muttered.

They heard the front door slam open, sending wind throughout the entire house. A shout echoed through the halls. "I'm home!" shouted a man's voice.

"That's Dad!" James said, jumping to his feet. "Come on, Remus, he wanted to meet you!"

Remus dragged himself to his feet at a much slower pace than Sirius and James, who were jumping on the balls of their feet in impatience. Remus felt more than a little nervous. Sure, Mrs. Potter had acted… well, _much _better than he expected- more so than anyone who had found out his secret. But he had never talked to Mr. Potter, only glanced at him on the crowded platform. What if James' father wasn't as accepting as his wife?

James and Sirius bounded into the entry hall, with Remus lagging behind. A tall man shut the door. His arms were piled high with boxes, so only the tip of his scruffy black hair poked over the top.

"Hiya, Dad!" James said. "What's that you got there?"

Mr. Potter shifted the boxes in his hands so that he could see around them. His hazel eyes, framed by thick glasses, twinkled as he smiled at his son. "I'll show you, just as soon as I can set these down," he said.

The boys pressed themselves against the cream-colored walls to allow Mr. Potter to pass through, and they followed his trek through the hall and into the parlor.

"Hello, dear," called Mrs. Potter's voice from the kitchen.

"'Lo," Mr. Potter grunted, dropping the boxes down. He turned to survey the three boys. When his gaze fell on Remus, one cynical eyebrow raised.

"Oh yeah, Dad, this is Remus. Remus- this is my dad."

Mr. Potter held out his hand, frowning through his glasses at Remus. He seemed to be surveying him, almost judging him. "It's nice to finally meet you, Remus," he said. "I've heard… a lot about you."

Hoping that the trepidation stirring in the pit of his stomach wasn't showing on his face, Remus took the man's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir," he said, giving James' father a small smile.

Mr. Potter peered at Remus for a few more seconds before he nodded and turned to Sirius. Remus felt relief settle in as Mr. Potter spoke to Sirius. "Still here, are you?" he asked him gruffly, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

Sirius grinned at the man. "'Course, Mr. Potter. Your wife has the best cooking I've ever tasted; you're not getting rid of me anytime soon."

Mr. Potter let out a deep chuckle, shaking his head. "Why do you think I married her?"

"Charles," came a warning voice from the kitchen.

Mr. Potter laughed. "Just joking, Mary."

"What's in the boxes, Dad?" James asked, leaning down to poke at the cardboard containers sitting on the carpet.

"I picked it up for you and your friends," Mr. Potter said, pulling his wand out of his back pocket. Waving it over the largest one, the tape slit open, the cardboard flaps popping up.

James and Sirius leaned down, digging through the packing peanuts until the pulled out a circular piece of metal.

"Oh!" James said, nodding importantly as he turned the object over in his hands, inspecting it. "Thanks Dad! This is awesome, I totally… give up. What is it?" he asked, sniffing it.

Remus sat down next to him, taking the metal piece from him. "It's a basketball hoop, I think," he said, weighing it in his hands.

"Precisely," Mr. Potter said, shooting a small smile at Remus. It seemed to be more accepting, and Remus had the feeling he had just passed some kind of test. "It's a basketball hoop. One of my colleagues recommended it."

James stared at the hoop. "Okay, I'll bite. What's basketball?"

"It's a Muggle sport," Remus explained. "You see, you set up this hoop so it's elevated off the ground, attached to a pole or something like that. Then, you take an inflated ball and shoot it at the hoop. The whole goal of the game is to get the ball through the hoop, scoring you points."

"That sounds like Quidditch," Sirius said, "but a lot less interesting."

"It is like Quidditch in a way," Remus said, "and there are many Muggles out there who follow the sport avidly. I've played it a few times, it's not bad."

"When have you played it?" James asked, sounding surprised. "I thought you didn't like sports."

Remus cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Oh, uh, just a few times when I was little," he muttered, recalling the few times he had played the sport.

A few kids from the neighborhood had been acquaintances of him when he had been eight. A few of them had been wizards, but it was a mixture of Muggles and magical children. One day, they had invited Remus to play basketball with them. Remus had been overjoyed; he hadn't been invited to do anything since he had been bitten. Everyone was too scared of him, but these children must not have known what he was. Anyways, they enjoyed a few nice games of basketball, and Remus had been sure they were going to become good friends.

That is, until they found out his secret. Immediately, they had grown frightened of him, pushing him away and lashing out physically when he tried to speak to them. Eventually, Remus had just given up- on both them and friendship.

Until he met James, Sirius, and Peter. He was sure that they were his friends now, but if they found out about his condition… well, things wouldn't be pretty.

"Let's do it!" Sirius said excitedly, digging into the box for more pieces of the hoop.

Five minutes later, all of the bits and pieces of the hoop were lying in front of them, spread out across the parlor floor. An orange ball was lying to the side, already inflated.

"Um… how are we supposed to do this?" James said, blinking at the quantity of metal in front of him.

"Well, it's a Muggle sport," said Mr. Potter, "so we'll do it the Muggle way."

"But Dad," James tried to complain, "that'll take forever!"

"Nonsense! The Muggles manage perfectly fine, and so can we!" Mr. Potter said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, Mr. Potter," Sirius said, grabbing a piece of paper and holding it out. "Here are the instructions."

The boys snickered as Mr. Potter skimmed through the directions. A look of bewilderment came across his face. "How do they read this?" he asked, confused.

Remus gently took the paper from James' father and flipped it over. "That was the Spanish side, Mr. Potter. Here's the English translation."

"Oh… thank you, Remus," Mr. Potter said, reading the instructions. Slowly, he nodded, still frowning. "Right, we've just got to put the thingy in the… no, that's not the C diagram… this bolt here-"

James rolled his eyes. As much as Mr. Potter enjoyed Muggle objects, he was still a pure-blood at heart. "Dad, just use magic," he said wearily.

Mr. Potter sighed before crumpling the paper into a ball and tossing it over his shoulder. "Yeah, that's probably the safest thing to do," he said grudgingly.

Sirius snorted. "Safest," he muttered under his breath.

Ignoring him, Mr. Potter pulled his wand out. He waved it once over the assortment of pieces, and the boys watched as the metal flew around, connecting and weaving together. When it was completed, they were left with a ten foot tall basketball hoop complete with a large backboard and rim.

"There we go!" Mr. Potter said, pocketing his wand and beaming down at his work.

James bit his lip. "Dad," James said, staring at the hoop, "how in the name of Merlin are we going to get this outside?"

Mr. Potter opened his mouth, closed it, then looked back at the hoop. Groaning, he pulled his wand out again. "What would we do without magic?" he muttered to himself, waving it over the completed hoop.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the three boys were standing in the backyard. Mr. Potter had set up the hoop on a stretch of cement, handed them the bright orange ball, and went back inside the house.

"Okay, Remus, how do we play?" Sirius asked.

James experimentally dropped the ball, his eyes widening as it came back up to him, falling back into his hands. "It bounces!" he said excitedly.

Remus rolled his eyes. He reached over, taking the ball from his friend before James could do any damage with it. "Yes, James, that's the point of the game. See, you bounce it up and down like this- it's called dribbling," he said, showing them.

"I want to try!" Sirius said excitedly.

"Hold on, Sirius, I'm not done," Remus said, holding up his hand to calm Sirius down. Then, you just dribble it over here…" he walked up the court, towards the hoop, "and shoot it."

The ball sailed from his hands, landing perfectly through the rim with a soft _swish _of the net.

"My turn," James said, bounding forward and grabbing the ball.

"Hey!" protested Sirius.

"Hold on, Sirius, you'll get a turn. Now, you dibble-"

"Dribble," corrected Remus.

"_Dribble _it like this," James said, bouncing the ball awkwardly. "Then, you shoot-" He chucked the ball at the hoop. It hit the backboard, rebounding back and hitting Sirius right in the stomach.

"Oops," James winced.

"Ow!" Sirius whined, doubling over.

"Well, you wanted the ball!" James said cheekily, grinning at his friend.

Glaring at James, Sirius picked up the ball and threw it at him. James ducked down, hands over his head. The ball sailed over his head, and James stood up, smirking.

"Haha! You missed! I- Sirius!"

Sirius tackled him, and the two boys fell to the ground, wrestling. Their limbs flew everywhere as they rolled around, each trying to gain leverage over the other.

Letting out a groan, Remus leapt forward and attempted to pull the two off each other. "Sirius- James- stop- _it,_" he hissed, wrenching the two apart.

"He started it," James said, pouting.

"And I'm ending it," Remus snapped. "I thought we were playing basketball?"

"Oh, my turn!" James said, sprinting away to go get the ball.

Remus looked after him, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Is he serious?" he asked as James sifted through the flower garden, trying to find the ball.

"No, he's not Sirius- I am," Sirius said, grinning.

Remus dropped his head into his hands.

"Hey, I found it!" James called, standing up. There were leaves in his hair, but he wore a triumphant smile as he held up the orange ball. He walked back over to his friends, tossing the ball back and forth between his hands.

"It's my turn," Sirius said, snatching the ball in mid-toss.

"Hey! Sirius!" James complained as Sirius turned to the basket.

He dribbled the ball a few times before throwing it. Up, up, up it went- and sailed straight into the basket.

"Woah, how'd you do that?" James asked, staring at the basket in disbelief. Remus was having similar thoughts, but was able to control his facial expression better.

Sirius shrugged. "I dunno. I just threw it."

Frowning, James jogged over to the ball, picking it back up. After awkwardly bouncing it a few more times, he tried to shoot again. It hit the backboard and landed straight back at his feet.

Behind him, Sirius snorted into his hand.

His frown deepening, James picked up the ball again. Bouncing it a little more forcefully than necessary, he chucked it at the basket.

It missed, flying straight past the entire hoop and into the oak tree right behind it.

"Oh, nice going, James," Sirius said, looking at the ball, which was lodged between two branches of the tree.

"Hey, it was the ball's fault!" James said innocently.

"How are we supposed to get it?" Remus asked, walking forward to look closer at the tree.

James shook his head. "I don't like this sport," he said, crossing his arms.

A smirk broke out on Sirius' face. "Ooh, James doesn't _like _not being good at something!" he said, snickering.

"I do not!" James protested quickly.

Sirius openly laughed. "Of course not, your big-headedness."

"I do _not _have a big head!" James snapped.

This time, it was Remus to snort into his hand. James turned to glare at him as well. "Whatever," he muttered, stomping back towards the house.

Sirius and Remus doubled over laughing as James walked away, obviously sulking. Choking for breath, Sirius grabbed Remus' arm for support, succeeding in pulling them both over. The two crashed to the ground, still laughing, and started rolling around and clutching their stomachs.

Both of them felt much better as they laughed. Without knowing it, each of them felt the weight of the world on their shoulders almost all the time. Sirius, juggling his family and what he wants, and Remus trying to deal with his lycanthropy. The stress seemed to alleviate while they were laughing, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Inside the house, Mr. and Mrs. Potter looked up from where they were seated at the table deep in discussion to find their son stomping past, a scowl on his face.

"James?" asked Mr. Potter. "How did the game go?"

"I hate basketball," James muttered, stomping away to the stairs.

Confused, Mrs. Potter stood up and walked over to the window. Lifting the curtain, she peered into the backyard and saw Sirius and Remus cracking up, both on the floor. A smile stretched across her face as she watched them.

"Dear? What is it?" Mr. Potter asked, frowning at her.

Mrs. Potter looked back at him, smiling. "I do believe James just suffered his first defeat."

* * *

**A/N: Just a bit of fun for the Marauders, and Remus' arrival. It feels so nice to have him back in the story! Huzz-ah!**

**I got a lot of great reviews, so thank you so much! Please, please keep leaving them! It encourages me to update faster!**

**Please tell me what you thought of this chapter. I'll try to update soon!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	3. Restarting First Year

**Chapter 3: Restarting First Year**

"Oh, James, please be careful this year…"

"I _will _Mum, stop nagging-"

"And you, Sirius…" Mrs. Potter stopped crushing James in her arms and embraced Sirius tightly.

Sirius chuckled, patting the teary-eyed woman on the back. "I will, Mrs. Potter. Thanks for everything this summer; it means a lot."

"Oh, of course, dear." Mrs. Potter pulled back to smile at Sirius brightly. "You're welcome back any time that you want, you hear?"

Sirius' smile faltered slightly, but it was only noticeable to his two friends. "Thanks," he said quietly.

Finally, Mrs. Potter turned to Remus. She caught his eye, worry plainly shown on her face. "Remus Lupin, you take care of yourself, you hear?" she said sternly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I know, Mrs. Potter," Remus said mechanically, wringing his hands behind his back, well aware of his friends' curious looks.

She smiled sadly at him before holding out her arms. "Oh, come here," she said, folding him in a tight hug as well.

Summer was over, and the three boys had arrived at King's Cross Station. Mr. Potter hadn't been able to make it due to a business engagement, and had bid the three goodbye at the large breakfast supplied by Mrs. Potter.

An hour later, stuffed to the brim with eggs and potatoes, Remus, Sirius, and James had finished any last minute packing and squeezed into the Potter's car. Mrs. Potter (thankfully) knew how to drive, and had maneuvered the small red automobile expertly through the London traffic, getting them to the station in record time- leaving quite a while for her to say long, teary goodbyes to the boys she had grown attached to over the summer.

As for the boys, they had mixed feelings about heading back to Hogwarts. Although they were all quite sad about summer being over ("Just _imagine _the work they'll make us do," James had moaned last night), they were also overjoyed to be able to return to the castle. They had already made so many fond memories there, and they still had another six to go…

"Remus! James! Oof- Sirius!"

They heard a squeaky voice shouting over the din of the station, which was starting to fill up. Pushing through the crowds of students and parents was a mousy, plump boy with a shining red face and an eager expression. He waved energetically at the small group, ducking around trunks and owl cages as if he were in an obstacle course.

"Peter!" James cried, waving him over with a crooked grin.

When the boy finally reached them, Sirius slapped him on the back. "Good to see you, mate! How was your summer?"

"Great!" Peter said happily, beaming around at them all. "Ready to get back to school?"

"Depends," James said, chewing on his lower lip. "Will we have to do work there?"

Remus elbowed him. "James! You can't start off the school year with that attitude!"

James laughed, reaching out to ruffle Remus' hair. "Lighten up, Remy, only joking," he chuckled, ignoring the death glare his friend was sending him. "'Course I'm ready to get back to Hogwarts! Pranks, mayhem-"

"-detention," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"How about, learning?" Mrs. Potter put in hopefully, poking her head into the conversation.

Sirius grinned. "Nah," he said, waving her away.

Mrs. Potter sighed fondly. "Well, it seems that you boys are all ready to go. Will you get on the train alright?"

"We'll be fine, Mum. I'll write you every week, blah blah blah. Go on, we're all good here."

"Alright," Mrs. Potter said nervously. After sending them all a last broad smile, she turned to go. "Oh, and _do _try stay out of trouble this year!" she called over her shoulder before she was swallowed by the crowd swarming onto the secret platform.

James rolled his eyes, smirking at his friends. "What does he think we are, obedient?" he snorted.

"Wherever did she get that idea?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow bemusedly. "I've pretty much given up on trying getting you guys to follow the rules."

"Excellent, that means it will be easier to break them back at the castle!" Sirius said, clapping his hands. "Now then, let's go find a compartment before all the good ones are taken."

"Oh, I've got us a compartment!" Peter said. "I got here early, and my parents helped me load my things onto the train. I reserved a compartment for us- come on!"

Peter led the three through the crowded platform, finally reaching the great, shining red train. After a furious struggle and quite a few curses that made other parents shoot them disapproving glances, they got their trunks onto the train.

"It's at the front," Peter said, hopping on and pushing his way through the corridor. Already the train was beginning to fill with students of all ages. Older kids lounged around, shouting to old friends and laughing, while new first years stood awkwardly in the middle, fear evident on their faces.

They forced open a door to a compartment, which was, fortunately, still empty. Peter had emptied his bag over the seats, leaving quills and parchment lying on the seats.

"Good job, Pete!" James said, brushing aside a Chocolate Frog wrapper and sitting down. "That's one way to reserve a compartment! Trash it!"

"Don't get any ideas," Remus warned, helping Peter sweep his things back into his bag.

"But I thought you liked ideas, Remus-the-all-knowing," Sirius said, smirking at his friends.

"Haha," Remus rolled his eyes. He sat down and was quickly joined by Peter.

"Did you guys have fun this summer?" the plump boy asked, his watery eyes flicking around his friends.

Sirius shrugged. "Well, I was with James. So, it could have been better-"

"Hey!"

"Only joking, Jamie. It was awesome, best summer I've ever had!" Sirius said, grinning lopsidedly.

"I would _hope _so," James muttered, crossing his arms and sticking out his lower lip.

"I wish I could have come," Peter said sadly.

Sirius shrugged. "Next time, maybe. When does the sweets trolley come around?"

Remus stared at him. "Sirius, we had a huge breakfast not even an hour ago. You can't _possibly _be hungry."

"I'm a growing boy!" Sirius said earnestly.

"You mean you're actually going to grow?" James asked in mock disbelief.

"Watch it, midget," Sirius warned.

"I'm not a midget!" James immediately defended.

"Oh, yes you are. You're specky, mate. With knobbly knees and-" Sirius said, counting the traits on his fingers.

"What are you _talking _about?" James snapped, glaring at him.

"I'm only speaking the truth."

"Why _you-_"

"Er- sorry to interrupt," came a voice from the doorway. They turned to see Lily Evans standing there with her shock of red hair and bright green eyes that already looked annoyed.

"Ah, Evans," James said, sitting back in his seat. "I was wondering when you would turn up."

Lily wrinkled her nose at him. "_Potter,_" she said, as if she were addressing something she had found stuck to the bottom of her shoe.

"Hey, I'm here too!" Sirius said, waving his hands in the air.

Lily glared at him. "Whatever." She turned to Remus, who was watching with an amused expression. Lily's expression softened, and she sent him a smile. "I wanted to say hello, Remus. How was your summer?"

"Excellent. Yours?" Remus asked, returning her smile.

Lily shrugged. "Kind of dull after a year as a wizard. I'm eager to get back to work, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Remus said eagerly. "I can't wait for all the new topics we're going to cover this year."

Lily's smile widened until it seemed to fill the compartment. "I know! I heard Professor McGonagall was going to teach us how to transfigure-"

"Geeks," Sirius coughed not-so-subtly into his elbow, interrupting her speech.

Lily redoubled her glare at him, making him flinch ever so slightly. "Just because your brain isn't large enough to hold anything except utter nonsense, doesn't mean the rest of us don't wish to learn." She turned back to Remus, giving him a last small smile. "I'll see you at the castle, Remus."

After sending a last distasteful look at the rest of them, she turned and flounced out of the compartment.

Sirius slid the door shut with his foot, rolling his eyes. "She is _so _annoying," he muttered.

James frowned at Remus, furrowing his eyebrows behind his glasses. "Since when are you two so buddy-buddy?" he asked slowly.

Remus shrugged. "She's my friend; of course we're going to talk."

Sirius' eyes narrowed at James. "Wait a second… you don't _like _her, do you?"

James' eyes immediately widened. "Who? Lily?" He laughed. "You're joking, right? How could I like her?"

"That's exactly what I was just asking myself," Sirius said, still eyeing him suspiciously.

James brushed him off. "So, when's the sweet trolley coming around?" he asked, trying to keep his voice normal.

* * *

Halfway through their very large pile of chocolate and pastries, James spotted a dark figure dart past their compartment. Immediately, his face spread into a smirk, and he dropped the box of jelly beans he had been attempting to open.

"Hey, Snivellus!"

The Slytherin reluctantly stopped his flight down the corridor, turning to look back at the four through his greasy black hair.

"Have a nice summer?" Sirius snickered. Peter watched them excitedly, while Remus looked down at his hands and tried to block it out.

"It was fine," Severus muttered, his eyes darting back down the corridor.

"I see you're still not washing your hair," James said seriously. "Do you want me to get you some shampoo for Christmas?"

Peter laughed loudly, and Sirius snorted. Remus frowned lightly, but didn't say anything.

Severus sneered at him. "I'll get some shampoo when you get a brain," he hissed at James.

"Why you greasy little-" James grabbed his wand out of his pocket, jumping to his feet. Severus quickly pulled his own out as well, whipping it out of his robe at a pace so fast they could barely see him.

"James, don't," Remus said, tugging on his friend's arm. "Don't fight."

"Yeah, he's not worth it," Sirius said, glaring at Severus.

Reluctantly, James put his wand away, still glaring at Severus. The Slytherin backed away, wand still out, and ducked down the hallway.

"You should have let me hex him!" James exclaimed to Remus as soon as the compartment door was shut again. He glared at his friend. "I could have taken him!"

Remus sighed. "James, we haven't even gotten to school yet. You can't be fighting on the train."

"Oh yes, I can. Besides, he started-"

"No, he didn't!" Remus interrupted firmly. "_You _provoked _him._ You would have a lot less trouble if you just left him alone; did he even do anything to you?"

"He existed," James said as if that explained everything.

Remus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You need to grow up, James."

"Let's agree to disagree," Sirius said, sending an annoyed look at Remus. "I, for one, want to finish our candy." He reached into the stack lying on the seat next to him, rifling around for an opened Frog.

Still sending each other peeved looks, James and Remus joined the conversation again. Soon, it was as if nothing had happened, and they spent the last hour before they reached the castle telling jokes and exchanging Chocolate Frog cards.

"I got Dumbledore again!" James said, holding up a card. "You know, he was the first card I ever got. Now I have like, a million of him…"

Remus unwrapped a Frog, glancing at the card. "Agrippa again," he said, frowning. "I have eleven of her."

Sirius choked on his chocolate. "_Eleven_?" he asked in disbelief. "I've been looking for her for years!"

Remus shrugged, holding it out to him. "Take it," he said easily.

Eyes wide, Sirius grabbed the card, examining it with a huge smile. "Excellent, thanks, Remus!" he said eagerly, watching the witch on the front run her fingers through her hair.

James raised an eyebrow at Remus. "How'd you get eleven Agrippa's? I only managed to get my first a year ago."

Remus shrugged again. "I don't know, I guess I'm just lucky."

"Or he's a chocoholic who eats too many Chocolate Frogs," Sirius muttered, still reading the biography of Agrippa excitedly.

Remus rolled his eyes. "I am _not _a chocoholic!" he snapped.

"Sure you aren't," James snorted.

Peter pressed his face against the dark window, staring out. "I think we're here!" he said suddenly, turning to look at his friends with an excited look on his face.

They all jumped up, shoving each other to get a better spot at the window. Their breath fogging up the dark glass, they squinted outside. In the distance, they could just make out the bright pinpricks in the distance which showed the location of the large castle many students saw as their home.

"Yes!" James said. "I can't wait to get to the feast!"

The boys quickly tugged their robes on, fighting the black robes and yanking their head through. Remus made sure to change when the other three boys had their heads stuck in their armholes, and successfully managed to change without showing his scars.

The train screeched to a stop. Sirius, James, and Peter hurriedly shoved the leftover candy in the pockets of their robes. Remus stood by impatiently, tapping his foot and waiting with one hand on the compartment door.

The four fought their way through the crowds, jostled by the mass of students streaming out of the train. Finally, they hopped out into the crisp evening air, taking deep breaths of the fresh air.

"Firs' years over here! Firs' years this way!" they heard Hagrid shouting over the heads of the students.

"Come on," Remus said, taking his friends' elbows and starting toward the carriages.

"Wait a second," James said, tugging them to a stop. Students streamed around them as though they were a rock interrupting the flow of water.

"Why?" Peter asked curiously. "The carriages are over there."

A smirk spread across James' face. "Ah, but the carriages are so _boring…_"

Sirius frowned, then realization dawned upon him. His face lit up with a grin. "Yeah! The boats are much more fun!"

Remus' eyes widened. "No! That's for the first years!" he hissed at them.

James shrugged. "We're second years; practically the same thing. Come on, Hagrid won't notice a few extra students! We'll get on the boats and go in style… maybe cause a bit of trouble for the first years…"

"You _guys_!" Remus snapped as Peter and Sirius nodded excitedly. "We can't sneak onto the boats!"

"Course we can!" James said, turning to where the first years were being gathered. "We just have to channel our inner first years."

Sirius grabbed Remus' wrist, dragging the reluctant boy behind them as they trooped over to the first years. All four shielded their faces from view as Hagrid surveyed the first years, checking that they were all here.

"Big group this year," he said gruffly. "Well, let's not wait- follow me."

The assembly of first years and four sniggering second years marched after Hagrid as he led them down to the boats. Even Remus had a small smirk on his face as they walked, and he bit his lip to keep from laughing.

James winked at his friends before clearing his throat. "Oh, I _do _hope the giant squid doesn't choose _my _boat to sink."

A few of the first years surrounding him looked startled, ears cocking to listen to him.

Catching on, Sirius joined the charade with a grin. "Me neither!" he said. "I can't believe he makes the school sacrifice one boatful of children every year."

There was a small intake of breath from the first years. A young girl with a round face and brown pigtails looked on the verge of tears.

Remus cleared his throat. "Two years ago, it was my _cousin_," he said, ignoring his friends' shocked faces. "My parents were so scared; they told me the secret to get across safely just this morning. If you scream like a banshee the whole way across, you won't get chosen by the giant squid. He likes the quiet kids."

Peter stuffed the sleeve of his robe in his mouth to stifle his laughter, and Sirius was pinching his nose. James' face was steadily turning red with suppressed laughter.

There was a smattering of whispers from the children as Muggleborns frantically asked what banshees sounded like. Remus, on his part, kept a perfectly straight face, his expression a mask of nervousness that went well with what he was saying.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, boarding his boat.

The first years streamed into their vessels, still frantically whispering to each other.

James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus climbed into a boat. Peter was still struggling not to burst into tears from how hard he was laughing into his robes, and Sirius and James were staring at Remus.

"_Remus!_" James asked in disbelief.

"Yes?" Remus asked, drawing his cloak around himself and glancing at his friends curiously.

Sirius' jaw was dropped open. "That… was… _brilliant!_" he exclaimed. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

Remus shrugged. "I guess you guys are rubbing off on me," he said.

James and Sirius high-fived. "YES!" they cheered, gaining several strange looks.

"Everyone in? Right- FORWARD!" Hagrid shouted.

There was a dead silence as the boats cut across the inky black lake. About two minutes later, when they were a quarter of the way across the lake, the first scream started.

A first year in the back was wailing at the top of his lungs, trying to imitate a banshee.

Hagrid jumped. "What's wrong?" he asked frantically, turning around.

The call was taken up one by one, until the entire group of first years, excluding one dark-haired one, was screaming and wailing their heads off. The sound rang across the water, heard even by the teachers waiting in the Great Hall. The students arriving by carriage looked up with a start, wondering what was happening with the first years.

The four troublemakers had collapsed to the bottom of their boat, clutching their stomachs. The screams of the other children masked the sounds of their laughter, so they were free to crack up to their hearts content.

"This- is- amazing-" Sirius gasped out, grabbing his stomach.

"Now, hold up!" Hagrid shouted desperately, waving his umbrella in the air. "What's wrong?! Why are you all screamin'?!"

His only response was a wave of renewed wails.

When the boats pulled up at the other side of the lake, the screams abruptly cut off. All the first years were looking relieved, and the teary-eyed girl with pigtails was clutching at a friend's hand, looking overjoyed.

They all unloaded and stood in front of a bewildered Hagrid. The boys hid at the back of the group, ducking down so they wouldn't be identified.

"Why were you all screamin'?" he asked, eyes wide behind his scraggly beard.

No one seemed to want to answer. Finally, a girl piped up, "It was our protection from the man-eating squid, sir! It ate someone's cousin!"

Hagrid just looked more confused. "The squid?"

All the first years nodded seriously. "Are we the first to get across with no casualties?" a boy asked eagerly.

"Er- not exactly, no," Hagrid muttered. "Um… I'll jus' turn yeh over to Professor McGonagall, then…"

He trudged over to the door, raising his hand to knock. When the door was pulled open, Professor McGonagall looked out at the group of first years, surveying them over her spectacles.

"Um- well, these are the- the firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said, still looking perplexed. "I- I think."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him. "Alright, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

Shaking his head, Hagrid walked past her, into the Great Hall. "Squid…?" they heard him mutter to himself as he walked in.

The boys worked extra hard to hide themselves as McGonagall did her customary speech (which hadn't changed a bit since last year), but, miraculously, they were not spotted. When she left to go prepare the hat, there was an outbreak of whispering as everyone wondered how they would be tested.

"Hey, Sirius," James said loudly, "is it true that the Sorting Hat eats anyone that he can't sort immediately?"

They didn't notice a dark-haired boy's startled expression. Regulus looked at his brother in bewilderment, not having noticed him before and wondering why he was with the first years.

Sirius nodded seriously. "Yeah, best to dispose of them. If he can't find a place to put you-" he made a _chomp _noise- "out you go!"

Once again, they had gathered a secret audience, every first year hanging on their words.

"Nearly ate my brother last year," Remus nodded. "Wasn't sure if he was going to put him anywhere. He was up there for almost fifteen seconds- no one's ever gotten past twenty seconds before!"

James shivered. "I can't imagine getting eaten by the hat, can you?"

Sirius sighed. "But only seven first years make it every year; what are the odds we'll pass?"

James shrugged. "We'll just have to hope."

If the first years had relaxed at all after the lake, they were quite tense again. They glanced fearfully at the door, talking in hushed, scared tones to each other.

Regulus' eyebrows were furrowed as he watched his brother snicker with his… friends. Firstly, he was surprised that his brother even had friends such as those- _Gryffindors. _And this thing about the hat… that couldn't be true, right? He had been the only one not to scream; it was quite silly, really. Was his brother _really _behind this?

The door opened again, and McGonagall gestured for them to enter. "You may come in now," she said, frowning slightly as everyone looked at her, clearly terrified.

Very reluctantly, the eleven year olds shuffled into the Great Hall, clutching at each other's hands for comfort. The boys ducked their heads as they entered, stuck right in the middle of the group. There was no chance for them to escape as they trooped up to the front of the school.

"We are so getting caught," Remus muttered.

"We're so getting _expelled_," Peter whimpered fearfully.

"Nonsense, we'll be fine," James whispered, waving his hand dismissively.

When the terrified first years were lined up at the front of the hall, McGonagall cleared her throat. "When I call your name, please try on the hat," she said. Consulting her scroll, she read the first name. "Arnold, Gregory!"

A boy with dark brown hair paled, his freckles clearly showing on his face. Very slowly, he made his way to the stool until he stood directly in front of it. For a long time, he just stared.

"Well, go on," McGonagall said impatiently.

Sending her a fearful look, Arnold grabbed the hat with shaking hands. Holding it above his head, he stopped just as it was about to touch his hair.

"I can't!" he wailed.

There was an outbreak of whispers from the surrounding students. A few looked on with amusement as the scared little boy swallowed heavily as McGonagall narrowed her eyes.

"Why not?" she asked.

"What if it eats me?" Gregory said, his bottom lip quivering.

McGonagall blinked. "Why, of all the things- it's not going to eat you, silly boy! It's just going to sort you!"

Still looking uncertain, Gregory slowly lowered the hat onto his head and sat down on the stool.

He sat up there for about ten seconds, his knuckles turning white as he clutched the stool. Finally, the hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

There was light applause as Gregory tore the hat off his head, dropped it unceremoniously back on the stool, and sprinted for the very confused looking Hufflepuff table.

Shaking her head in confusion, McGonagall looked at the list again. "Baleworthy, Meghan!"

The girl with pigtails squeaked, slowly making her way up to the stool. Casting scared, desperate looks toward McGonagall (who was beginning to look as bewildered as Hagrid had been), she lowered the hat onto her head.

She sat up there for a full thirty seconds. All of the first years seemed to be hyperventilating, thinking she was going to be eaten, when-

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Eyes wide, Meghan pulled the hat off her head and slowly set it down. Looking confused, she shuffled over to the Hufflepuff table and sat down next to Gregory. They began to whisper, throwing doubtful looks at the hat.

"Black, Regulus!"

Sirius jumped, his eyes widening as his younger brother sauntered up to the hat, looking totally confident. "Shoot!" he hissed. "I totally forgot my brother was here this year!"

Regulus dropped the hat on his head, stature relaxed. He waited patiently, even going so far as to tap her foot as the hat debated.

And debated.

And debated.

When a minute had passed, everyone started whispering. Sirius frowned at his brother.

"What's going on?" he whispered. "He's a shoo-in for Slytherin!"

A few seconds later, the hat finally shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" and Regulus pulled it off his head, looking relieved.

"Oh, good," Sirius sighed. "I thought he was going to be put in Gryffindor or something."

All of the first years looked more relaxed now and were frowning at the hat skeptically. As the Sorting progressed, the fear was lost, and the first years who realized they had been tricked even chuckled a bit, looking relieved.

As the group standing at the front of the Great Hall grew smaller and smaller, the four boys were noticed. Peter shuffled his feet nervously as people started whispering, pointing at them, but James was soaking in the attention; he smiled happily at everyone and even waved.

The professors who had noticed them glared sharply, but chose not to interrupt the Sorting. McGonagall was still blissfully unaware of her most troubling students, still focused on the scroll.

Finally, she read off the last name. Zeldon, Zach became a Slytherin, and she rolled up the scroll, nodding to herself.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, gaining McGonagall's attention. "I think you've forgotten a few," he said with a twinkle in his eyes, pointing to the boys who were left in front of the hall.

Bewildered, McGonagall turned to look at Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James. For a few seconds she merely stared, confused, before realization dawned on her. Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared as she glared at her students.

"Potter! Black! Pettigrew! Lupin!" she barked.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall?" they chimed out together, Peter's voice nothing but a squeak.

"What is the meaning of this?" McGonagall demanded.

"We just thought we'd take a trip with the first years," James said, smiling at her.

"They said the squid was going to eat us on our way across the lake!" a first year Gryffindor piped up. Sirius, not sure who to glare at, settled for the whole table.

McGonagall took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. After a moment, she pointed to the exit. "My office," she said shortly. "Now."

The four boys trooped down the steps and out of the Great Hall. Everyone stared as they passed; Lily was glaring daggers at them, especially James, who was still grinning at everyone.

They made their way to McGonagall's office (the path which they knew by heart), letting themselves in and sitting down in the hard backed wooden chairs that seemed to have been placed their just for them.

After a few minutes, the door flew open, and McGonagall stormed in, quickly followed by Dumbledore.

"Explain yourselves," she immediately demanded, crossing her arms and staring them down.

James launched into the tale without hesitation, seemingly un-phased by the glare he was receiving from the Transfiguration professor. Peter was quaking, chewing on his nails nervously, while Sirius leaned back in his chair, looking bored. With trepidation, Remus met the headmaster's eyes, and was surprised to see them sparkling with amusement. He even thought he saw the man wink at him.

"You tricked a group of innocent first years?" McGonagall exclaimed once James had finished, eyebrows almost getting lost in her hair they were raised so high.

Sirius shrugged. "It wasn't anything bad. Besides, we like to think of it as… initiation."

McGonagall puffed up, and she opened her mouth to start screaming, but she was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore.

"A very clever trick, boys," he said softly.

Everyone stared at him, shocked. James was the first to break the silence.

"Thanks!" he said happily.

"Clever, but not exactly how we would expect our students to behave," he corrected himself. "I believe a month of detention will be sufficient. And-"

"Sir," Remus blurted out. "Term hasn't started yet, so it wouldn't be fair to take points off Gryffindor. Right?"

Dumbledore surveyed him over his spectacles, looking slightly pleased. "Yes, Remus," he said softly. "I do suppose you're right. No points will be taken from Gryffindor, but you will come here each weekday and serve detention with Professor McGonagall. Do I make myself understood?"

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore," they recited.

Dumbledore nodded, looking pleased. "Now then," he said, clapping his hands, "I must get back to the feast. Professor McGonagall will deal with you now."

And he swept out of the room.

Still looking peeved, McGonagall glanced at them. All four were eyeing her hopefully, gazes darting towards the door.

"Oh, no you don't," she snapped. "You think you'll get back to feast after this?"

She snapped her fingers, and a plate of sandwiches appeared on her desk. "You may return to your dorm after you are finished," she said. "And _don't _forget your detention." She followed the headmaster out, leaving them alone in her office.

After a moment of silence, all four burst out laughing. "That was amazing!" James laughed. "Best prank I've ever pulled!"

"I thought we were going to be expelled," Remus said, grabbing a sandwich.

"But we weren't," Sirius said happily.

The four stuffed themselves with sandwiches (the plate kept refilling itself), and when they were full, they exited, making their way back up to the common room.

When they reached the Fat Lady, a fifth year Gryffindor who was just entering held the portrait open for them.

"Oh," he said, "and nice job at the feast."

James grinned at him. "Thanks," he said, clambering inside.

The common room was filled, everyone waiting to see what had happened to the four. When they walked in, there was an outbreak of noise.

"Nice job, Potter!"

"Wouldn't have expected it from you, Remus."

"I see you didn't get expelled!"

Remus turned slightly red, but Sirius looked at ease. "Nope, we're fine," he said, catching sight of a steaming Lily trying to make her way towards them. "But we're really tired; pranks are exhausting, you know? We'll tell you all about it tomorrow!" he said quickly, shoving his friends to the dorm steps.

They sprinted upstairs, trying to avoid the wrath of Lily. Their dorm room, which now read 'Second Years', was a welcome sight, and they hurriedly opened the door and slammed it shut again.

They quickly changed, all of them starting to feel weary after such an exciting day. Remus, of course, changed behind closed curtains as always. As soon as he was dressed, Sirius yanked the curtains shut, falling asleep immediately, and Peter was quick to follow. Their snores filled the room, making James snigger.

"Night, Remus," James called as he finally shut his own curtains, deciding it was time to attempt to get some sleep.

Remus sighed happily, slowly pulling the curtains shut around his bed. _Home at last,_ he thought, lying down to fall asleep. _He was home._

* * *

**A/N: Alright, I cracked up about a million times throughout this chapter. Sorry if the ending was a little rushed, I'm tired and wanted to get this out there.**

**I hope everyone liked it! If it seemed a little mean, remember: They are twelve year old boys. They're idiots! So of course they would do something like this…**

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews! Please, tell me what you thought of this chapter! It will only take a few seconds!**

**I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	4. The Full Moon Rises

**Chapter 4: The Full Moon Rises**

The next few weeks flew by in a blur of detention and homework. McGonagall was obviously still ruffled that she hadn't caught James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter earlier, and compensated by assigning them large amounts of homework. That, on top of the daily detentions they were forced to serve, kept them too busy for much else.

Most of the first years were too frightened to approach the four, which James and Sirius found very amusing. They would glance at them fearfully in the halls and avoid them, recalling the incident on their arrival to Hogwarts. But a few of them had laughed it off and stopped to chat to them in the hall, thinking they were the 'cool kids' of Hogwarts. They must be, to pull off such a fantastic prank.

Needless to say, James was very pleased with their assumption.

After their last detention, all four boys had collapsed into the armchairs in the common room, exhausted and relieved. James was flexing his elbow, pouting. McGonagall had set them to work cleaning the trophy room the non-magical room, which none of them had been very happy about. James, however, had it the worst. He was a sort of pampered prince at home, all of them admitted it. The others were better suited to handle labor such as that, but it still irked them.

"Thank Merlin we're done with our detentions," Sirius sighed, kicking his feet up to rest on the coffee table. "That was bloody exhausting…"

Remus leaned his head back against his chair, shutting his eyes. He was even more tired than the others, and for good reason. The full moon was tomorrow, the first one of the school year. Although Remus hadn't been hit with any sickness yet, he still felt the customary weariness that occurred before and after that hated time of the month.

"You alright, Remus?" James asked, frowning at his friend, who looked pale and kind of sickly.

Remus opened his eyes. "Huh?" he asked, blinking. "Oh- oh, yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly.

"Mhmmm," James said, eyeing his friend suspiciously. Shaking it off, he excitedly grinned around their small circle. "Guess what's coming up!" he said happily.

Sirius shrugged. "I dunno. More detention?"

"No," James said, pouting. "Quidditch try-outs are next week!"

Sirius perked up, looking interested. "Really?" he asked.

James grinned. "Yup," he said. "I'm going for Chaser; there's an open spot. Any of you trying?"

Peter and Remus shook their heads, but Sirius shrugged. "I've always wanted to play Beater," he said thoughtfully. "But there isn't an opening, is there?"

James frowned. "No," he admitted. "One of them is a sixth year, the other's a seventh year. But you can try next year, Sirius!"

Sirius sat back in his chair. "Eh, whatever," he said. "Next year, I suppose."

"I wish I could play Quidditch," Peter said sadly.

James grinned at him. "Don't look so down, Pete. I'm sure if I work with you a bit, you'll become a Quidditch pro, just like me!"

Remus groaned. "Oh, fantastic. Now James is going to go on and on and on about how awesome he is, especially if he makes the team."

"No I won't," James snapped.

Sirius snorted. "Please, with your big head? Of course you'll be bragging!"

"I don't have a big head!" James exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I can't help it that I'm just so fantastic at Quidditch and schoolwork and I'm so handsome and-"

"No big head, huh?" Sirius said pointedly, raising an eyebrow.

James shut his mouth, realizing what he was doing. "That doesn't prove anything," he muttered.

"Sure it doesn't, James," said Sirius doubtfully. Catching sight of Remus out of the corner of his eyes, he frowned. "Remus, are you sure you're alright?"

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt hot and clammy, and his stomach was beginning to make him feel nauseous. He recognized the beginnings of the full moon sickness, and he couldn't have been less displeased that it had already started.

"Just tired," he mumbled, taking a deep breath. "I should get to bed."

"Yeah," James agreed, "you don't look that well. Maybe you're getting sick?"

Remus shrugged weakly. "Possibly," he said, clambering to his feet. "Well, 'night," he said, heading to the dorms.

"Goodnight!" his friends called after him.

As soon as Remus had disappeared up the staircase, Sirius turned to the others. "It's happening again," he said.

"What's happening again?" Peter asked, looking confused. James just nodded.

"Yes," he said, "but he hasn't disappeared yet, so we can't mark it on the chart."

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked, frowning. Again, he was ignored.

"But we should write down that he's getting sick," Sirius reasoned. "It could be important evidence. Sometimes he just disappears because he's 'sick'."

"Wait, what?" Peter asked, desperately confused.

"Yeah," James said thoughtfully. "But what if we-"

"Um, guys?" asked Peter. "What's going on?"

James and Sirius both blinked at him. "Oh, right!" Sirius said, "We haven't told Peter yet!"

James glanced around the common room, checking to make sure no one was listening in. When he was assured, he turned back to Peter and spoke in a low voice, quickly explaining about the list they had started over the summer. He told him that they were planning on charting Remus' disappearances to see if they could find a pattern to it, something that would reveal where their friend ran off to every month.

Slowly, Peter nodded. "Alright," he said, "but how will knowing what days Remus disappears on help us?"

James shrugged. "I don't know," he said, "but right now I just want to find out why he's lying to us."

* * *

Remus woke up the next morning feeling absolutely dreadful. His head felt like it had been hammered in, and his stomach was tied up in painful knots. Around him, he could hear the sounds of his friends chattering and getting dressed. Letting out a moan as their sharp voices made his head spin, Remus buried his head under his pillow and shut his eyes again.

The talk in the room died down when Remus groaned. Frowning, James walked over to his friends' bed. "Come on, Remus, I know classes are dull, but we have to get going!"

Remus let out another moan before slowly sitting up. James winced as he watched Remus shake his head, yawning. "Remus, you look horrible, mate," James said.

"I'm fine," Remus mumbled, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"Seriously, Remus, maybe you should just lie back down," Sirius said, walking over and frowning at his friend as well.

Remus just shook his head stubbornly and stood up. He swayed for a few anxious seconds before gaining his balance. "Told you I was fine," he muttered, giving his friends a weak smile.

Still, they hovered around him as he took a step. As soon as he touched his foot down, it gave out beneath him, and Sirius had to quickly grab his arm to keep him from falling.

"Woah, Remus," Sirius said, steadying him. Remus shut his eyes, trying not to be sick from all the movement.

"That's it; you're not going to classes," James said decisively.

Remus let out yet another moan. "I have to," he groaned.

"What you _have _to do is get some more rest," Sirius snapped, slinging his friends' arm around his shoulder. "Now come on, back in bed."

"No," Remus protested when Sirius tried to get him back into bed.

"You're not going to classes!" Peter said.

"No," Remus repeated, "take me to the hospital wing." He winced as his head throbbed. "Madam Pomfrey knows what to give me."

The three boys exchanged frowns, and Sirius' eyes narrowed suspiciously. Nevertheless, James took Remus' other arm in order to help him walk, and the four exited the dorm.

They were already late for breakfast, so the common room was deserted. The boys were unhindered as they made their way through the room and out the portrait hole, entering the chilly corridor.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Remus was trying hard to stay awake, ignoring the exhaustion trying to claim him, and didn't notice the suspicious and worried glances his friends were shooting each other. When they passed the Great Hall, the smells drifting out made Remus sick to his stomach, and he stumbled a bit more than he already had been.

Eventually, James broke the silence. "Remus, what did you mean, Madam Pomfrey knows what to give you?"

Remus gulped, taking a deep breath. "She has medicine for me," he said in an airy, disconnected voice.

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius pushed.

Remus' head drooped sleepily, and his head spun. "Oh, it's nothing," he mumbled.

Sirius rolled his eyes. Even half-unconscious and seriously ill, Remus was still secretive. Go figure.

James, Sirius, and Peter hiked their sick friend up to the hospital wing, finally arriving at their destination. Panting, James knocked on the door and pushed it open before anyone could answer.

"Madam Pomfrey?" he called, helping Sirius and Peter come inside.

There was a moment's pause before the door to Madam Pomfrey's office opened, revealing the annoyed looking nurse. As soon as she caught sight of them, she pursed her lips.

"Of course, it's you four," she sighed, "but what could you have done so early in the morning?"

"It's Remus, Madam Pomfrey," Peter squeaked. "He's ill."

Pomfrey frowned, scanning their group until she caught sight of Remus leaning against Sirius' shoulder. Letting out a small gasp, she strode forward. "Remus!" she said, taking hold of the boys' arm and helping him over to a bed. "What happened?"

Remus collapsed onto the bed, shutting his eyes. "Tonight," he muttered.

Pomfrey looked confused for a moment before comprehension dawned on her face. "Goodness me, tonight already?" she mumbled to herself. "I completely forgot." Clearing herself, she pulled the covers around Remus, who was almost asleep. "I'll get you something to take," she said in a brisk voice.

She turned on Peter, Sirius, and James, who were watching the exchange with extreme curiosity. "Alright, nothing to see here!" she said, shooing them out. "Get down to the Great Hall, you can just make breakfast before your classes."

Obediently, the three filed out of the hospital wing. The door slammed shut behind them, the noise echoing in the empty corridor.

The boys were silent for a moment, staring at the closed door behind them.

"That was _bizarre_," Sirius finally said.

"Definitely," James agreed. "What's happening tonight?"

"You don't think it's something bad, do you?" Peter asked nervously, his eyes darting to the hospital wing.

Sirius scoffed, his lips twitching. "Come on, Pete. It's _Remus_. What would he be able to do that's so bad?"

James didn't look amused. "Who knows?" he asked seriously. "We hardly know Remus, it seems. He's keeping a huge secret, I just know it. He'll be perfectly fine one moment, and then we'll mention something and he'll completely clam up. He's hiding something, something about where he disappears every month. And whatever it is, it must be pretty bad if he hasn't even told _us _yet."

"That's another thing I don't like," Sirius said, the smile dropping off his face. "Why in the name of Merlin is he keeping it from us? We're his best friends, he can tell us anything, doesn't he know that?"

"Well, Sirius, there seems to be two options to that question," James said. "Either he _doesn't _realize that he can tell us anything, or whatever he's holding back is so big he doesn't think we would be able to handle it."

"But what could be so big?" Peter asked.

"That's what we're going to find out this year," James said determinedly. "I have a feeling Remus won't be back tonight. That's our chance to break out the list again."

* * *

Remus woke up later that evening feeling a little bit better than before. Earlier, Madam Pomfrey had forced some horrid-tasting potions down his throat then ordered him to go back to sleep, which he did gratefully. Half an hour before the full moon rose, she shook him awake again, ready to take him back down to the Whomping Willow.

He drew the cloak around himself, hiding his face from view, and followed Pomfrey out of the hospital wing. She eyed him worriedly out of the corner of her eye, but, luckily, he was able to walk on his own again without falling over. It was getting late, and the castle was empty as they made their way to the Entrance Hall and down the stairs into the brisk night air.

Walking purposefully, they reached the Whomping Willow. Standing well out of reach of the flailing branches, Pomfrey levitated a branch up and prodded the knot at the base of the tree. The branches froze, immobile in the foggy night air.

"Alright then," Pomfrey said, letting the branch fall to the ground. "Good luck, Remus. I'll be there to pick you up in the morning."

Remus gave the concerned-looking nurse a strained smile before starting towards the tunnel. Weaving his way through the frozen branches, he reached the tree trunk and slipped in without hesitation, the path far too familiar to him.

He dropped the cloak in the entrance, crouching down to hurry down the corridor. He was relieved when he finally reached the end and was able to stand up straight without smacking his head on the roof of the tunnel.

Remus glanced around the familiar shack with a sigh. While this place made it possible for him to attend Hogwarts and ensured his peers' safety, it was an everlasting reminder that he could never be a normal teenager. He would forever be plagued with his lycanthropy, and even though it only changed him one night a month, he knew it would be very hard for him to find acceptance in this world. He was considered a dark monster, someone too dangerous to be treated with anything but caution. There wasn't anyone out there who wouldn't be afraid of him if they found out what he was.

Remus sat down on the hard wooden floor, hugging his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them. The window set high into the wall was still blank; the full moon had not yet risen. Remus let out a sigh, shutting his eyes.

This was the worst part of the full moon. The wait beforehand, waiting for the moment when he would become a monster. The knowledge that there was nothing he could do about it, nothing to change the course of the night. He was destined to turn into a beast, no matter how painful the transformation would be. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It felt like hours, hours of anxiety and fear, before a sliver of silver peeked through the window. Remus let out a gasp, his eyes flying open as there was a gut-wrenching pain in his stomach.

Remus doubled over with pain, breathing heavily. He squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to block out the agony. He could feel his bones starting to shift, cracking in their sockets. Dark hair starting spreading across his body, covering him from head to toe in wolf's fur. His hands clenched tight into fists as his nails started shaping into the claws, sharpening and growing longer.

When he cracked his eyes open again, they had turned a deep gold, different from his normally light amber eyes. Instead of the customary warmth and intelligence that sparkled in them, these eyes were angry and murderous. Remus let out a long howl, letting out the last of the pain in that long screech as his mind shifted to that of a wolf's.

Outside, Madam Pomfrey froze as the howl reached her ears. She shut her eyes, breathing deeply. She couldn't believe that a child so sweet and full of potential had been cursed with this illness. It just wasn't fair.

But then, life wasn't fair.

She hurried up the stairs and back into the castle, feeling a little better once she was shielded from the cold air. Making her way back to her office, she prepared to spend the rest of her night worrying about the poor boy howling in agony.

* * *

"Sirius, I think that's enough chocolate," James said, tugging the Chocolate Frog out of Sirius' hand.

Sirius frowned at him. "I've only had three."

"And that's three less for me!" James said, tossing the chocolate back into the care package he had received from his parents the day before.

Rolling his eyes, Sirius flopped down on the bed. "Come on, we're supposed to be working on the list," he said. "We need to do it while Remus isn't here; the last thing we need is for him to find out what we're doing."

"Right," James said, leaning back against the pillow, "what have we got already?"

Peter picked up the sheet of parchment, squinting to decipher James' hurried writing.

"Let's see…. 'Disappears once a month, every month; He claims his mother is ill and he's visiting her, but it's obvious she isn't; He's often ill and irritable around the time that he leaves; People who seem to know what's going on are James' mother, Madam Pomfrey, the professors, but NOT US'."

Sirius raised his eyebrow at James as Peter read off the words he had written down over the summer, but James ignored him. "Alright," he said, "what else can we write down?"

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a strange noise coming from outside. Frowning, James jumped up and hurried to the window.

"Was that a howl?" he asked, perking up his ears and leaning outside.

The full moon hung in the air above the castle, bright and shiny. Peter and Sirius joined their friend at the window, and for a few minutes they stood there listening, but they heard no other noises.

"Strange," Sirius muttered, stepping away.

Peter bit his lip. "What do you think it was?" he asked nervously.

James shrugged. "Probably just some monster in the Forbidden Forest," he said.

"I don't know," Sirius said doubtfully, "it sounded awful close to the castle."

Peter let out a little squeak while James frowned. "Yes, I suppose," he said. "But we really should get back to our list."

Sirius sighed exasperatedly. "James, what else is there to write? Whatever Remus is hiding, he's awful good at it. I have absolutely no idea what's going on, and I don't think your stupid little list is going to do much good."

James pouted, stalking over to the bed and snatching the list up. "Fine," he snapped, "whatever. We'll do it without the list." He stuffed the parchment back into his trunk. "What's your suggestion?" he asked sarcastically.

Sirius shrugged. "I think we should list the symptoms Remus gets around the time he leaves and go off of that," he said.

James' jaw dropped, and he narrowed his eyes. "First off… that was actually smart, Sirius, congratulations. Second… your suggestion is a _list_? Seriously? After you made me put mine away?"

Sirius shrugged, smirking. "My list is cool, yours is lame."

"It is not! My list is awesome!"

"Yeah, right," Sirius snorted.

"Are you guys seriously arguing over a list?" Peter asked, blinking at his friends.

"Don't hate on my list just because it's better than yours," James sniffed, turning away from his friend.

Sirius stared at him. "Better than yours? Honestly, what do you think, you're going to…"

Peter turned away with a sigh as his friends continued throwing list insults back and forth. Climbing onto his bed, he closed the curtains and drew the covers around him.

"How does Remus handle them?" he mumbled, laying down and shutting his eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about the little wait, but it's up now. Ta-da! I felt bad for Remus in this chapter : ( But then, I feel bad for him all the time. POOR REMUS!**

**Thanks for all the reviews! I loved reading them! Please, take the time to leave one for this chapter as well. It will only take a few seconds and will make my day!**

**Thanks for reading, and I'll put the next chapter up soon!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	5. Hagrid

**Chapter 5: Hagrid**

Remus felt himself come back to consciousness, but he kept his eyes tightly shut. He felt _horrid. _His head throbbed painfully and there was something tight wrapped around his wrist, nearly cutting off the circulation. He tried to gingerly wiggle his toes and winced when pain shot through his foot.

Letting out a small moan, Remus slowly dragged his eyes open. Immediately, he let out a hiss of pain as the bright light burned his eyes, which were apparently accustomed to being shut.

After a moment of recovery, he pried his eyes open again. This time, he was able to keep them open despite the light, and squinted until he was able to see where he was.

He was lying on a bed with white sheets. Around him were walls of a blue-ish plastic material.

Frowning, Remus struggled to get up. He attempted to push his hands down to gain leverage, but quickly realized that his right wrist was tightly bandaged. Bringing it close to his face, Remus examined his hand, covered in thick white wrapping.

Suddenly, the wall flew to the side. Jumping, Remus whirled around, eyes wide with panic.

"Ah, good, you're awake," Madam Pomfrey said, drawing back the curtains.

Remus groggily rubbed his eyes with his good wrist. "What happened?" he asked, his voice hoarse from disuse.

Pursing her lips, Pomfrey set a try with vials of potion down on the foot of the bed. "You've been unconscious for almost a week," she finally said.

Remus gasped slightly. "A _week?_" he asked incredulously.

Pomfrey grabbed a blue bottle, examining it closely. "Yes," she said, "the injuries you sustained were quite heavy. Broken wrist, sprained ankle, and a slight concussion. You must have bumped your head very hard." She popped the top on the bottle before holding out the potion to Remus. "Drink," she ordered.

Remus obediently took the bottle and held it to his lips, tipping the contents down his throat. He wrinkled his nose as the vile potion scorched his throat on the way down. Immediately, his headache dissipated.

"Your friends have been worried sick," Pomfrey went on. "They were nearly always in here, questioning me. I even caught them trying to sneak in multiple times, those little devils."

Remus felt a lump grow in his throat. "What'd you tell them?"

Pomfrey sighed, rummaging through the potions again. "Well, I couldn't very well let them see you," she said. "When you first arrived you were in a horrid state, all scratched and bruise. They'd be very confused if they saw you, seeing as you should have only been lying in bed."

"What did you tell them?" Remus repeated.

Pomfrey pulled out an orange potion bottle. "I told them you were at St. Mungo's."

Remus groaned, taking the offered potion. "Fantastic," he muttered, taking a sip. "Now I have to think of a reason why I was there."

"You're very smart, Remus; I'm sure you'll think of something," Pomfrey said, moving the empty bottles to one side of the tray.

When Remus had downed three more potions and he was now able to move his foot with only a slight pain, he sat up completely. "Can I leave?" he immediately asked.

Pomfrey scowled. "No!" she protested.

"Please?" Remus pleaded. "I feel fine now, you're potions were amazing. And I've been gone a week, I need to see my friends, I'll have a ton of make-up work to do-"

"You are injured!" Pomfrey snapped.

"I've been injured before! I promise I won't go running around, I'll take all my potions- oh, please, Madam Pomfrey?" Remus smiled hopefully. He didn't wish to be confined to the hospital wing any longer than he had to.

Pomfrey pinched her nose. "You'll be the death of me," she muttered.

"So I can go?" Remus asked, pleasantly surprised.

Taking a deep breath, Pomfrey nodded. "Yes, you may go. But," she added as Remus looked a bit _too _excited, "I'll be giving you a few potions to take tonight. And you are to sit as much as you possibly can; your ankle is still very weak and will be sore for a while." She set three small vials of potion on the bedside table.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," Remus said dutifully.

Eyeing him, Pomfrey stepped out. "I'll retrieve your clothes," she said, opening a cabinet and pulling out a bundle of robes.

Remus dressed as quickly as possible, tugging the robes over his head. When he was done, he dropped the potions into his pocket and slid aside the curtains. Pomfrey was bending over another bed, where a first year was lying with a broken arm.

"It's Saturday," she called over her shoulder as Remus passed. "Dinner's in half an hour!"

Nodding, Remus waved goodbye to the nurse and hurried out into the corridor. The halls were empty except for a few students walking in small groups, chatting together. None of them paid Remus any mind as he navigated his way through the castle, limping slightly. He headed towards Gryffindor common room, guessing that was where his friends would be. At least, he hoped they would be there, because he didn't want to have to troop around the castle looking for them. If Madam Pomfrey saw that, she would order him to bed-arrest.

When he reached the portrait, he spoke the password (Gargantum Gremlock) and limped inside. The heat of the fire immediately warmed him, and he wrapped his arms around himself as he cast his eyes around the cozy room. Multiple Gryffindors sat around the room, either doing homework or being distracted from it.

After a few seconds Remus spotted a group of three boys lounging in armchairs by the fire. A small smile playing on his face, he crept up behind them.

"But I don't _get _it," Sirius was saying, throwing his quill to the ground.

James sighed. "I _know _Sirius; we'll ask Remus when he gets back."

"I wish he was here now," Peter said softly. "Do you think he's okay?"

"I'm sure he's fine," James said, sounding a bit anxious.

"Are you sure? I heard he died," Remus said, leaning on the back of Sirius' chair.

Sirius scowled. "Don't say that, Peter! Of course he hasn't died!"

Peter looked bewildered. "_I _didn't say that!"

James frowned. "Then…" he trailed off, catching sight of Remus. "Remus!" he cried, leaping up and engulfing his friend in a hug.

Remus winced, but quickly hid his discomfort. "Hey, James," he said lightly, patting his friend awkwardly on the back.

James pulled back, giving Remus a lopsided grin and peering at him through his glasses. "Are you alright?" he asked seriously.

Remus waved him away, collapsing into the vacant armchair next to them. "I'm fine," he said.

Sirius frowned, raking his eyes over Remus. "Then what happened to your hand?" he accused.

Remus absentmindedly touched the bandages, biting his lip. "I tripped on my way out of the hospital," he lied. "I've got a slight sprain."

"Then why didn't they fix it?" Sirius continued.

Starting to feel hot, Remus swallowed. "I don't know," he muttered, "I didn't want to bother them."

"It's a hospital," James pointed out.

"Did you guys take any notes while I was gone?" Remus asked hurriedly, trying to change the subject.

Sirius clenched his jaw but, true to his word, did not question Remus further. "Here," he muttered, handing him a stack of papers covered in untidy writing.

"Thanks," Remus said gratefully, leafing through the notes and skimming various lessons.

James let out a small groan. "Not _now_, Remus, it's time for dinner!" he said standing up.

Remus gave a microscopic grimace. All the potions he had taken were starting to make him feel slightly queasy, and the mere thought of eating right now made him absolutely sick. Besides, he was rarely hungry around the full moon; it would be a few days before he got his appetite back.

"I think I'll skip," he muttered.

Sirius stared. "Skip _dinner?_" he asked incredulously. "As in… _food_?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sirius, food. I'm not hungry."

James scoffed. "Nonsense!" he said. "You have to be hungry! That hospital food is less than filling; I would know."

"Of course you would," muttered Remus.

"Right then, come on!" James said, ignoring Remus.

With a deep sigh, Remus heaved himself out of his chair, trying not to put a lot of weight on his foot. By the time he was up, the other three were already waiting by the portrait hole.

"Come on, then!" Sirius called.

Walking as normally as possible, Remus crossed the rooms and the four of them clambered out the portrait hole. Together, they started towards the Great Hall, neither of them speaking.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Sirius spoke. "You want to explain why you're limping?" he asked without looking at Remus.

Remus was surprised. He thought that he had done an okay job at hiding his limp, but apparently he had been mistaken. "I'm not limping," he immediately said, recovering from the surprise.

Sirius shot a sharp look at him, but James was the one to respond. "Remus, I thought we already decided last year; you're a horrible liar. We can tell your limping, now, why are you?"

"I… um, I rolled my ankle when I tripped at St. Mungo's," Remus invented, wincing at how stupid the lie sounded. He felt a nauseous feeling grow in his stomach that had nothing to do with the potions that had been forced down his throat; this was a feeling he had come to associate with lying to his friends, which always succeeded in making him feel horrible.

Sirius snorted, unconvinced. "Oh, yes," he said, "you _tripped. _How silly of me."

Remus clenched his jaw, feeling a bit of the nausea turn to anger. "Look," he snapped, "we made an agreement last year that you weren't going to question me about these things. I can't tell you where I go, and I thought you decided to respect that. But it would be deeply appreciated if you would stop badgering me all the time and making me feel even lousier than I already do. You think I don't want to tell you the truth? I do. But trust me, you don't _want _to find out. So just…" Shaking his head, Remus took off down the corridor, leaving his bewildered friends behind. He sprinted around the corners, aiming towards the Great Hall, which was the first place that had popped into his mind.

A burst of pain shot through his leg every time he put his foot down, but Remus just clenched his fists and kept running, despite how it hurt. All he could think about now was getting away from his friends before they caught up to him.

He slowed as he reached the Great Hall. His ankle was screaming at him, and Madam Pomfrey would probably be doing the same thing if she realized what he had been doing. Limping more than ever, Remus joined the throngs of people heading into the Great Hall, slipping inside the vast room. He chose a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table, moodily sitting down and putting his head down on the table, pressing his forehead against the cool wood.

Now that his initial annoyance was ebbing away, Remus felt horrible for what he had said. It wasn't their fault he had to keep lying to them. And surely after his little outburst they would be angry with him, and perhaps realize they didn't want to be friends with someone who could never tell them the truth. Remus dearly hoped they wouldn't fight again; it was bad enough the first time, and he wasn't sure he could bear it a second time around.

Remus didn't notice anyone had sat next to him until he heard, "Hey… Remus?"

Frowning, Remus lifted his head a fraction and looked up. James and Peter were sitting across from him, while Sirius had joined him on his side of the table.

"Yeah?" he asked wearily.

Sirius sighed, brushing back his shaggy black hair. "Sorry about that," he said. "I broke my promise about questioning you. I'm just… worried, Remus."

Remus lifted his head fully, looking all three of his friends in the eye. There was a mixture of emotions on their faces, from concern to apprehension.

"You don't need to be worried," Remus muttered.

James furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know, Remus. You disappear once every month and come back with injuries, and you tell us we shouldn't be worried?"

"I can handle it," Remus said shortly.

"Of course you can," Peter said quickly, "but it's our job to be worried about you. We're your friends."

Remus felt his heart clench. "I-"

"Remus, you do know you can tell us anything, right?" Sirius interrupted. "Honestly, we won't care. You could be half-mermaid, and we wouldn't treat you any different. You're our friend."

_Yeah, right,_ Remus thought._ If I told them the truth they would never stay my friends. _

But that wasn't what he said. Instead, he said quietly, "I know."

The three others seemed to be waiting for an explanation, but when none came, they reluctantly let it drop.

"Well," Sirius said lightly, "let's eat! I'm starved."

* * *

The next day dawned bright and early. Grey clouds covered the sky like a blanket, and the chill air kept most of the students safely inside the castle. But not James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who were lounging under an oak tree despite the cold weather.

"Can we go inside?" Peter complained. "I'm freezing."

"It's refreshing," Sirius said, leaning back against Remus' bag and shutting his eyes.

"You know what would be even more refreshing? If we dumped you in the lake," Remus muttered, yanking his bag out from under Sirius.

"Ouch!" Sirius cried as his head hit the ground suddenly.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" James said, sitting up excitedly. "Let's go for a swim with the giant squid!"

"But it's _cold_," Peter said stubbornly.

"We are not swimming with the giant squid, James," Remus said, digging through his backpack.

James slouched back, frowning. "Whatever," he muttered. Then he brightened again. "Let's go visit Hagrid!" he said.

"The gamekeeper?" Sirius asked, rubbing his head as he sat up.

"Yeah," James said, "I heard he's always up for a chat. Let's go!"

He jumped up, yanked Sirius to his feet, and the two started sprinting towards Hagrid's cabin.

"There they go again," Peter sighed.

"Come on," Remus said reluctantly, shouldering his bag, "we'd better go make sure they don't break anything."

Remus and Peter followed their friends across the grounds. When they got to the small hut at the edge of the trees, James and Sirius had already knocked and were waiting patiently at the door.

There were muffled barks from inside, and a gruff voice saying, "Back, Fang, back!" The four boys shot each other bewildered looks.

The door was pulled open and a hairy face stuck his head out. When he saw the boys, he frowned. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Hi!" James said, waving. "I'm James Potter, and these are my friends-"

"Wait a minute," Hagrid interrupted, "were you those boys who scared the firs' years?"

"Yup," Sirius said, "that was us."

Hagrid's face broke into a smile. "Ah, I've been wantin' ter speak with you four," he said. The door opened wider. "Come in."

James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus stepped into the small, cozy cabin. Immediately, Sirius was tackled by a large black monster.

"I- what the-" Sirius said, flailing wildly as a giant tongue started attacking his face.

"Fang!" Hagrid barked, dragging the black dog off of Sirius.

Fang obediently pulled away, but still watched Sirius, who was picking himself off the ground.

"Did I just get attacked by a bear?" he asked incredulously, wiping his face on his sleeve.

James was having trouble controlling his laughter. "I think that's a dog."

"Sorry," Hagrid said, patting Fang's enormous head. "He's a bit excited at times…"

"I could tell," Sirius muttered.

"Anyways," James said, shooting a look at Sirius, "my name is James Potter. This is Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin."

Hagrid frowned. "Remus Lupin, eh? Yeah, I've heard 'bout you…" He turned to Remus, who took a slight step back, paling slightly. Of course, how could he have been so stupid? Hagrid must know that he was a werewolf; he was going to be in trouble, surely…

Suddenly, Hagrid's broke into a kind smile. "Nice to finally meet yeh," he said. Remus sent back a tentative smile.

Hagrid shuffled over to the kettle and poured five cups. "Tea?" he asked, setting the steaming cups on the table.

"Yes, thank you," Remus said politely, grabbing a cup.

Hagrid grabbed a plate filled with some sort of lumpy bricks off the shelf. "So, 'bout that trick with the firs' years," he said setting the plate in front of them.

"Sorry," Peter squeaked quickly.

Hagrid chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah. Found it pretty amusing, if yeh ask me. Had me fooled, alrigh'. Didn' know what they were all screamin' about. Told em the squid would eat them if they didn't, did ya?"

"Yeah," James said, grabbing a cake, "that was Remus' idea."

Remus blushed as Hagrid laughed again.

"Professor McGonagall wasn't as pleased," Sirius said, biting into a cake. A frown spread across his face, and he bit down harder, but he couldn't break into it, try as he might.

"Ah, she just doesn' like when students get away with stuff," Hagrid said, oblivious to Sirius, who was attempting to pry apart the rock cake. "You sneakin' past her and all that."

"She gave us loads of homework afterwards," James said, grimacing.

Hagrid nodded wisely. "Seems teh be her style. Cake?" he offered Remus, who quickly (but politely) refused.

James suddenly let out a slight gasp. "Oh, Merlin, I almost forgot," he cursed, "Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow!"

"You tryin' out?" Hagrid asked.

"Oh, yes, he won't shut up about it," Sirius said, patting Fang's head. "All hail James, the all-powerful Chaser!"

"Shut it," James muttered. "I don't know how I could have forgotten, I should have been practicing more, oh, Merlin, I'm not going to make it…"

"You'll be fine, James," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know, Remus," Sirius said doubtfully, "what if his broomstick can't support his big head?"

James aimed a swipe at Sirius' head as Remus and Peter laughed.

"I think I understand what Professor McGonagall was talkin' about," Hagrid said bemusedly, his eyes twinkling.

"What do you mean?" James asked, frowning.

"She's been goin' on about her 'problem students', as she calls yeh," Hagrid said. "Somethin' about you always causin' trouble in class?"

James stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "Professor McGonagall thinks of us as her problem students?" He exchanged a look with Sirius, and both their faces split into a grin.

"_Awesome!_"

* * *

**A/N: First, sorry about my lagging of the updating. Also sorry if I got Hagrid out of character, he's hard to write, so don't go nitpicking about that!**

**Hope you all liked this chapter! A bit of angst in there, and fluffiness as well. The next chapter will be Quidditch tryouts, and it will also be my first attempt at writing anything to do with Quidditch. Oh, joy…**

**Thanks for all the reviews, they really mean a lot! If you would take a few seconds to give me some feedback, that would be much appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	6. Air Sickness

**Chapter 6: Air Sickness**

Remus was rudely awoken the next morning when someone jumped on top of him. Gasping with surprise, he sat up so quickly it was a wonder he didn't get whiplash.

"Woah, Remus, calm down," James said, looking surprised at his friend's sudden movement. He grinned crookedly down at him, his glasses slipping to the edge of his nose.

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is it, James?" he asked tiredly. Sirius and Peter's snores still sounded from their respective beds.

James bounced up and down excitedly. "Quidditch tryouts!" he crowed.

Groaning, Remus flopped back against his pillows. "Go 'way," he muttered, shutting his eyes again.

James frowned. "No!" he said, tugging Remus back into a sitting position. "Why aren't you more excited? It's _Quidditch tryouts!_"

"I'm not trying out, am I?" Remus asked grumpily. "Why'd you wake me up?"

James sighed. "Cause Sirius is impossible to get up in the morning and I wanted someone to have breakfast with me!"

"Why didn't you take Peter?" Remus asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

James just gave him a look. "Seriously, Remus? Just get up, will you?" He hopped off the bed and went over to his trunk, rifling through for his robes.

Glancing longing back at his pillows, Remus followed suit and slid out of bed. He winced as his bare feet touched the freezing stone, and hurried over to his trunk. Snatching his clothes off the top of his things, he leaped back into bed, grateful to get off the cold stones. Grumbling obscenities at James for waking him up so early under his breath, he pulled the curtains closed to get changed.

James tugged his shirt over his head. Looking over at Remus, he frowned at the closed curtains. It dawned on him that he had never seen Remus change without pulling the curtains shut, like he was hiding some kind of secret. The rest of the boys were fine with changing out in the open; why wasn't Remus? Looking back, James realized that Remus pulled the curtains around his bed very often, hiding something from them. No one else was in private so much; so why Remus? For the millionth time, James desperately wished he knew his friend's secret.

He blinked in surprise as Remus threw the curtains back and emerged, now fully changed. Dumping his pajamas in his trunk, he turned to James, still looking half-asleep.

"Alright," he yawned, "I'm ready. Let's go."

"Onward!" James said, opening the door and walking out.

The common room was empty. Frowning, Remus turned to James.

"James, what time is it?" he asked suspiciously.

James grinned cheekily. "5:30."

"James!" Remus exclaimed indignantly. "Why are we even up this early?!"

"Tryouts are at seven!" James protested. "I have to be well-nourished and prepared to play, for your information! And if that means getting up at 5:30-"

"And dragging me with you," Remus muttered.

"-so be it!" James finished gallantly, puffing out his chest proudly.

"James, look around," Remus sighed as they entered the Great Hall. Gesturing around at the near-empty halls, he said, "no one else is here."

"Nuh-uh!" James denied. Pointing down the Gryffindor table, he identified a lone figure hunched over the table, scribbling on a parchment. "McMillan's here!"

Of course he was here. He was Oliver McMillan, sixth year, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and wide-known fanatic. The team hadn't won the cup in five years, and Oliver was getting desperate. The only thing he wanted to do at Hogwarts for his last two years was focus on getting the cup- even if that meant working his team to death. Remus really didn't envy whoever made it on the team; it was going to be a nightmare.

"Well, yes, but you know him," Remus whispered. "He's probably already charting out new strategies, despite not having a team yet."

Ignoring him, James shouted, "Oy, Oliver!"

The sixth year looked up. He had a broad face with dark brown hair and a set jaw. When he saw James, his face broke into the fraction of a smile.

"Potter!" he said, laying down his quill. "You're up early!"

"Gotta get ready for tryouts!" James said, walking up and sitting down across from the captain. Remus reluctantly tailed behind him, sitting down next to him but leaving a little space in between them. He had a feeling this conversation would turn to Quidditch real fast.

"Dedication!" McMillan said approvingly, "That's what I like to see! And no complaining about the early hours; just what I want in a teammate!"

James beamed at the praise, grinning in an 'I-told-you-so' way at Remus, who simply rolled his eyes.

"Lupin," McMillan said, gaining Remus' surprised attention. "You trying out?"

Remus felt himself flush. "No," he muttered. "I don't play Quidditch."

McMillan frowned. "Hmmm," he said, sweeping his gaze over Remus. "Pity, looks like you could be a fine Keeper."

Remus raised an incredulous eyebrow. _Him_, look like a good Keeper? He was scrawny, pale, and sickly looking most of the month because of his lycanthropy; how in the name of Merlin would he be a good Quidditch player?

"Why don't ya try out for commentator?" he asked. "I know Jeffrey's leaving next year."

James brightened. "Remus would be an excellent commentator!"

Remus immediately shook his head. "Nope," he said. "I don't think that's the job for me."

McMillan looked a little put-out, but James just shrugged. "We'll convince you," he said. "We've got two years!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Eat, James," he said, pushing a bowl of porridge towards his friend.

* * *

An hour later, James had his head in his hands. "I can't do it, Remus," he moaned.

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. James had grown nervous and uncertain while he ate, and had eventually convinced himself he was going to mess up in his tryouts.

"You'll do fine," he repeated for the millionth time.

James shook his head, not looking at Remus.

The rest of the people trying out had entered the Great Hall and were sitting at different points along the bench, poking at food and looking as nervous as James. One poor third year was green, and looked like he was about to be sick at any moment.

Glancing around the hall, Remus caught sight of Sirius and Peter entering through the doors. Feeling a wave of relief wash over him, he waved them over.

"Hey, Remy!" Sirius said, ruffling his friends' hair as the two sat down. "What's up?"

Flattening his hair and shooting Sirius a disgruntled look, he jerked his finger at James. "See for yourself," he muttered, exhausted from all the reassurances he had given James for the past hour.

Frowning, Sirius turned to James, who hadn't even looked up as Sirius and Peter had sat down. "What's wrong, Jamesie-boy?"

James lifted his head to peer up at Sirius through his glasses. Sirius looked surprised. "James, you're white as a sheet!" he said, poking his friend's pale cheek.

"You don't look well," Peter agreed, looking at James anxiously.

"I don't feel well," James moaned. "I can't try out."

Sirius stared. "Why not?"

"I just can't!" James said, throwing up his hands. "I don't know what's wrong with me! My stomach is tied in knots, and I feel all hot and sweaty, and my legs feel like jelly! This has never happened before! What if I'm getting sick?"

Suddenly, Sirius' face broke into a grin, and he snorted. James glared at him.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

Sirius struggled to hold back a laugh. "You're _scared, _James," he said. "You're nervous about tryouts. Don't tell me you've never been nervous about something before?"

James looked at him blankly before shrugging. "I haven't needed to," he mumbled. "I rock at everything."

"Then what's so different about this?" Sirius asked.

James frowned at him. "Shut up and leave me to wallow in peace," he muttered, putting his head back in his hands.

Sirius jumped off the bench. "Nope," he said, grabbing James' arm and dragging him upright. "We're getting you out to the field."

James protested, pulling back. "No- I need to go to the Hospital Wing- I'm not trying out- Sirius!"

Sirius had given James a hard tug, sending him over the back of the bench. He landed on his back, his eyes widening as the air was knocked out of him, leaving him gasping to take in oxygen.

"Come on, then!" Sirius said, pulling his winded friend to his feet. James was too busy trying to breathe again to fight back.

"Si-ri-us-" he wheezed, stumbling as Sirius pulled him out of the hall. "Can't- breathe-"

"You'll get over it!" Sirius said brightly, practically skipping.

Exchanging exasperated looks, Remus and Peter leapt up and hurried after their friends. By the time they caught up with them, James had gotten his breath back and was loudly protesting as Sirius pushed him down the steps and into the morning air.

"Sirius, let me go back!"

"No, Potter, you're trying out whether you like it or not- now, come on, we got your broom already, it's over here-"

Sirius led him over to a row of brooms lined up near the broomshed. Remus immediately caught sight of James' Nimbus 1000- the fastest broom out. His father had bought it for him over the summer so he could try out. It had been James' pride and joy, but now he was eyeing it with a look of loathing.

Sirius scooped it up, shoving it into James' arms. "Come on, now, let's go," he said, marching over to the Quidditch pitch and ignoring James' death glare.

"I hate you," James muttered, dragging his feet as he followed him. Either Sirius didn't hear him, or he just decided to pretend he hadn't.

There were a few people already warming up. McMillan was talking to Stella Larue, his Seeker. She was in his year, and had joined the team in her second year along with him. He had already decided that she was going to be the Seeker on the team, which was why no one else was trying out.

"Right then," Sirius said, "we have ten minutes. You want to take a practice flight?" he asked James.

"No, I want to go back to bed," James muttered, "and not come out again. Ever."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Get over yourself, James, and get on the stupid broom. Fly around the pitch once, I guarantee you'll feel better."

James looked doubtful, but he grudgingly mounted his broom. Shooting one last desperate look at Remus, he kicked off, rising into the air.

Although he wasn't putting much effort into it, Remus could tell James was a natural flier. He drifted around the pitch, slowly at first, but gradually gaining speed. He leaned lower onto his broom, pushing it to go faster and faster. Remus could tell he was starting to ease up a bit as he flew; if there was one thing that relaxed James, it was Quidditch.

He touched down next to them after completing a lap. He was grinning, but he still looked really pale.

"Told you so!" Sirius said, smirking at James. "You feel fine now, don't you?"

A frown crossed James' face. "I feel better," he admitted, "but I still feel kind of… bleh. Maybe I should-"

"Just the aftereffects of your nervousness," Sirius interrupted, waving him off. "Come on, McMillan is calling everyone over."

Sure enough, McMillan was getting everyone assembled. "Everyone trying out for Chaser, line up!" he hollered at the top of his lungs.

"Good luck, James!" Peter said.

"You'll do great," Remus added.

"_Go_, James," Sirius said, giving him a little push in the right direction.

James joined the group assembled in front of McMillan, comprised of at least twenty students. James glanced around nervously, eyeing a particularly formidable seventh year who glared at everyone who dared come close to him.

"Alright, then," McMillan said. "Split into two groups, about ten in each, and fly around the pitch once."

After a bunch of confusion, there were finally two clear groups standing a few feet apart. McMillan sent the first one off, leaving James to wait in the second group.

The first group was rather dismal. One second year couldn't get off the ground, and McMillan immediately sent him off the pitch. Two other players collided halfway around, spiraling to the ground. One fourth year fell off for no reason at all. They were all asked to leave.

When the group set down again, McMillan swept his eyes over him. Suddenly, he frowned, his eyes narrowing at three giggling girls in the back. "What the-" he spluttered, "you guys are Hufflepuffs! Out!"

Laughing full out, the three stumbled off the pitch, clutching at each other and trying to calm down.

McMillan took a deep breath before turning on the other group. "Alright, go!" he said, obviously annoyed.

James took off with the rest of the group. He flew perfectly, although he was one of the only ones; several more were sent off because of mess-ups, and McMillan rooted out two more Ravenclaws.

Finally, all the amateurs had been kicked off the pitch, and an assembly of nine Chasers stood in front of McMillan. James shot his friends a quick smile, and they gave him big thumbs up.

"He doesn't look that great," Remus muttered, observing James' pale pallor and slight grimace.

"He'll be fine," Sirius said dismissively, focused on the tryouts.

McMillan ordered them to each pick up a Quaffle, of which he had a bin of. He was going to give each of them one shot; whoever scored made it to the next round, and whoever didn't was to leave. He would keep going until only three were left, and those three would get the positions.

McMillan flew up, hovering near the hoops. He was a Beater, but he was taking up the position of Keeper for practicing.

The possible Chasers formed a line in the middle of the pitch, hovering off the ground. James was third in line, and was looking at the hoop intently, a focused expression on his face.

The gigantic seventh year was the first to go. He flew forward, and when he was close enough, shot. To everyone's great surprise, he missed by at least three feet. Even McMillan seemed a little surprised, but shooed him away.

Scowling and glaring at McMillan, the seventh year dropped to the ground, holding his broom so tightly it looked as though he were going to snap it.

The second person in line, a slim third year, managed to score. Smiling victoriously, she flew off to the side, hovering nearby to watch the rest of them.

It was James' turn. Remus squinted up, trying to see him in the bright glare of the sun. James took a deep breath before slowly flying forward, picking up speed. He chucked the ball at the right hoop- McMillan dived-

"Yes!" Sirius, Peter, and Remus cheered as the ball sailed through the hoop.

James felt a smile slide onto his face, and looked down at his friends. Sirius was hopping up and down, waving his hands in the air and beaming up at James.

James joined the other girl to watch the rest of the tryouts. She smiled pleasantly at him, and he returned it easily, feeling confident the he could make the team now that he had shot.

Four people didn't make it. McMillan shouted them off the pitch, and they exited, frowning and grumbling to each other.

The remaining five formed another line, holding new Quaffles. James had taken his place at the front of the line, a cocky smile on his face. When McMillan motioned for him to go, he flew forward and took his shot, throwing his fist into the air as that one, too, soared through the hoop.

"Haha, that's my boy!" Sirius said, doing a little jig.

"Alright, Sirius," Remus laughed, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder to stop him.

The next boy shot and missed; he promptly burst into tears and sped off the pitch, his face red. The girl from before made it again, and flew once more to join James. Another girl took her shot, glaring at the hoops in concentration. When she made it in, she flipped her blond hair behind her, smiling at the girl already hovering next to James.

The last boy was trembling in midair. He hovered alone, the last to go. Gulping, he flew forward and threw the Quaffle.

"YES!" Sirius shouted as the ball missed. "He's on, he's made it! Go, James!"

Shouting for the three Chasers to meet him on the ground, McMillan flew down, touching on the sweeping grass. Stella Larue walked over to him, her arms crossed. She nodded approvingly as James and the two girls touched down in front of them.

"They're good," she said, smiling kindly at them.

"Right then," McMillan said, grabbing the parchment Stella offered him and scribbling something on it. "Our new Chasers are Margaret Johansson-"

The blond girl beamed.

"Piper Grace-"

Piper smiled shyly, brushing her dark hair behind her ear. She shot a glance at James, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"-and James Potter," McMillan said, finishing up on the parchment. "Fantastic! You all did swell today, congratulations. First practice is Monday at five, be here on time. You can go now, or you can stay to watch the rest of the tryouts."

James immediately turned at the dismissal and sprinted over to his friends. Sirius grinned, giving him a high five.

"Brilliant!" he crowed. "Great job, James, knew you could do it!"

"Good job," Remus said quietly, smiling at James.

James smiled, but he still looked as white as a ghost. If anything, he had gotten _paler _during tryouts. Beads of sweat grew on his forehead, and he was breathing heavily.

"Hey, are you alright?" Remus asked, frowning.

"Huh?" James asked distantly. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, is all; why don't we head back to the common room?"

"Nah, let's go to the kitchen! Victory celebration!" Sirius shouted, jumping into the air.

Remus saw a slight grimace cross James' face, but he was the only one who did. "Alright," he muttered. "I'm just gonna put this in the broom shed," he said, motioning to his broom.

After they had dropped it in the shed, the four boys made their way back into the castle. James was dragging his feet, staring at the ground. Remus was looking at him intently, but didn't say anything just yet.

Sirius was too elated to notice. He led them through the stone corridors, chattering about the tryouts. Peter trailed after him, looking up at Sirius and bobbing his head enthusiastically. Remus half-heartedly grinned whenever Sirius shot something at him, but didn't add to the conversation. The only sounds in the empty corridor were Sirius' voice and their footsteps, which echoed around the hallway.

Suddenly, James stopped walking. He stood frozen, staring straight ahead. Remus immediately stopped, grabbing the back of Sirius' shirt to pull him back.

"Ouch!" Sirius protested. "What-" he caught sight of James, and his expression changed to confusion. "James? Come on, let's go."

James shook his head slowly. His face was tinged with green, and his breathing was heavy. "I don't- I don't feel that- that good," he mumbled in a shaky voice.

"You can't still be nervous, can you?" Sirius asked, walking forward cautiously. "James? _James_!"

Sirius leapt forward as James' legs gave out beneath him. He caught his friend just before he hit the ground, sinking to his knees and putting James' head in his lap.

"James?" Sirius' eyes were wide and panicked. Remus kneeled down next to them, putting his hand to James' forehead.

"He's burning up!" Remus said, jerking his hand back. "He has a huge temperature!"

James' eyes were shut, but he moved his head slightly, letting out a low moan. His breathing was labored and sharp, and sweat poured down his face.

"Oh, what do we do?" Peter asked, wringing his hands and staring down at James with terror-filled eyes.

Remus stared down at his unconscious friend, swallowing heavily. "We need to get him to the hospital wing," he said firmly.

* * *

**A/N: Alright. Well, I don't like that chapter. I can't really write Quidditch, so yeah, that's why. Sorry for that… **

**Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry if this chapter isn't that great, but I still would really appreciate if you reviewed.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	7. Delusional

**Chapter 7: Delusional**

"The hospital wing?" Sirius asked incredulously. "It looks like we need to get him to St. Mungo's!"

"Sirius, don't overreact," Remus said quietly, trying to think.

"I'm not overreacting!" Sirius snarled at him.

"Then calm down."

"I am calm!" Sirius shouted, obviously panicked about the state of his friend.

"What are you four shouting about this time?"

Remus looked over to see Lily standing at the end of the corridor, her hands on her hips and her eyebrows arched. Next to him, Sirius tensed.

"Beat it, Evans," he snapped. "Can't you see we're in a bit of trouble here?"

Frowning, Lily peered closer at the scene. Seeing James, she gasped, hurrying forward. "Merlin, what happened?" she asked, crouching down next to the boys.

"James collapsed," Remus explained.

"Collapsed?" Lily asked, leaning down over him. Her red hair fell across her face, tickling James' face as she placed a hand on his forehead. "Potter? James? James, can you hear me?"

James moaned slightly, his eyes moving rapidly under his eyelids. Lily felt his forehead, frowning. "How long has he had a temperature?" she accused the other boys.

Sirius shrugged hopelessly. "I don't know! He was complaining before Quidditch tryouts, but we all thought that was just his nerves acting up. We didn't know this would happen!"

"Right then," Lily said authoritatively. "We need to get him to the hospital wing. I'll go get Madam Pomfrey."

"We can carry him!" Sirius immediately put in, his head shooting up.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Besides, it's best that you don't move him; I don't know what's wrong with him. It could just make things worse. I'll go get Madam Pomfrey, you stay here."

"Just hurry," Remus pleaded to Lily.

Lily nodded once before turning around and sprinting down the corridor. Her red hair streaked behind her like flames as she ran as fast as she could, pumping her arms like crazy.

Remus and Peter sat down next to James. Sirius shifted slightly, and James let out another groan.

"Jamesie?" Sirius asked softly. "Ah, come on, James; can you hear me?"

James' eyes cracked open. His hazel eyes were dull and glassy, and were focused on a spot above Sirius' head.

Nevertheless, Sirius was thrilled to see a sign of life from his ill friend. "James!" he said excitedly. "Excellent! How do you feel, mate?"

James slowly blinked, turning his head to look at Sirius. "I'm fine, Peter," he hummed out in a hoarse voice.

Peter stared at James in confusion and concern. Sirius' smile slipped off his face. "James? It's me, Sirius," he said worriedly, leaning in closer to James' face.

James shook his head tiredly. "Sure you are, Dad," he croaked out, his eyes sliding shut.

"Remus?" Sirius asked, his voice higher than normal, "why does he think I'm his father?"

"He's delusional," Remus explained, knitting his eyebrows in worry. "He must be really sick. Oh, where's Madam Pomfrey?"

Suddenly, James' eyes shot open again. This time they were brighter, more aware. The three boys bent over him immediately, staring down at him.

"James?" Sirius asked cautiously.

James took a deep breath, his chest heaving. "Sirius," he choked out.

Sirius brightened. "Hey! You actually recognized me!"

James shifted his gaze to Remus. "Remus," he breathed, "I'm going to be sick."

Remus, catching on, pushed Peter and Sirius back. "Get out of the way!" he said, sliding away from James.

James sat up, his chest heaving. Turning his head away from his friends, he retched, emptying the contents of his stomach onto the stone floor.

"Ew," Sirius said, wrinkling his nose.

"Oh, my!"

All three boys' head whipped around to see Madam Pomfrey bustling over. Lily hurried behind her, her face pale and worried.

"What happened?" Pomfrey asked, bending over James, who had flopped back onto the ground and shut his eyes again, his chest rising and falling unevenly.

"I don't know!" Sirius exclaimed. "He said he wasn't feeling all that well, and then he collapsed, and Lily came and said she was getting you, then he thought I was his dad, then he threw up-"

"Alright, Sirius, that's quite enough," Pomfrey said, interrupting the hysterical boy. She flicked her wand, conjuring up a stretcher, and levitated James onto it. He didn't wake up again, or give any sign that he noticed he was floating.

"Thank you, boys," Pomfrey said, holding her wand in front of her, "I'll take him from here. You four return to your common room, now, I'll take care of him."

"Will he be okay, Madam Pomfrey?" Sirius asked earnestly. Remus and Peter stood right behind him, watching her with concern.

Pomfrey's eyes softened slightly. "He'll be fine," she said lightly. "Now, go on!"

Lily, Remus, Peter, and Sirius turned and trooped down the corridor. Behind them, Pomfrey levitated the stretcher in the opposite direction, heading towards the hospital wing.

The four Gryffindors walked together in silence for a while. Lily was still rather pale, and Sirius' jaw was clenched tightly.

"Well," Remus said awkwardly, "I suppose it wasn't his nerves."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "_You think_?"

"Oh, I do hope he'll be okay," Lily said nervously, wringing her hands. "He looked awfully sick."

"I thought you hated him?" Sirius asked, frowning at her.

Lily glared at him. "That doesn't mean I wish him _ill, _Black. I would hate if anything happened to him! Even if he is an arrogant prick."

"Well isn't that just charming?" Sirius hissed at her. "I'm going down to the kitchens. Remus? Peter? You coming?"

Peter agreed to accompany him, but Remus shook his head. "I need to finish up some homework," he said. "You go on."

Sirius shrugged. "Suit yourself." With a last awkward glance at Lily, he and Peter turned down another corridor and disappeared from sight.

Lily looked after them. "They don't like me much, do they?" she said thoughtfully.

Remus protested quickly. "Of course not, Lily!" he said. "They just… well… alright, maybe they don't like you too well. But that's because they don't know you."

Lily pursed her lips doubtfully. "I don't know why you hang out with them, Remus," she said. "Honestly. They're so… ugh. And their stupid pranks? They're so annoying!"

"Lily, I understand what you're saying," Remus said, "but they're great. Really. They've been there for me when I needed them, and have helped me out dozens of times."

"They didn't seem like they were there for you last year," Lily pointed out. "I remember you guys fought for a week. You barely spoke to anyone through the entire fight; they all ganged up on you!"

"They had a valid reason," Remus said stubbornly. "You wouldn't get it."

"Oh, really?" Lily asked. "I don't know what they're like around you, but they seem like total idiots to me."

"Lily, please," Remus said. "If you got to know them, I'm sure you would like them as well."

Lily didn't respond. Remus looked at the ground, sighing. "Thanks for helping us back there," he said quietly. "You were great."

Lily glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. "You were all really worried about him, weren't you?" she asked. "Especially Sirius."

Remus smiled slightly. "'Course we were. I don't think Sirius could bear it if something happened to James- any one of us, actually. Why do you think he's in the kitchens? Distracting himself with food, probably."

Lily laughed. "I thought he just loved food?"

Remus chuckled grudgingly. "There's that too, of course."

* * *

They heard no other news about James over the next few days. They visited the hospital wing at every break they had, but Madam Pomfrey kept them firmly outside, telling them to stop bothering her and allow James to recuperate.

The boys wouldn't have that, of course. They wanted to see their friend and they wanted to see him now, and no nurse was going to keep them out.

She could, however, yell at them.

"I said _no, _boys!" she shouted at them when they tried to sneak in while her back was turned. "Mr. Potter is not going to die the moment you three leave him alone! I will inform you when he is fit enough to take visitors. Until then, please go back to your common room!"

The three slouched away, grumbling under their breaths.

Sirius tossed back his hair, scowling. "Who does she think she is?" he demanded of his friends.

"The school nurse?" Peter asked, blinking at him.

"Well, yeah, but… still!" Sirius complained.

"I wish we knew if he was okay," Remus said, tugging at the sleeve of his robes. "I hate not knowing what's happening to him."

Sirius stared at him in disbelief. "How do you think we feel about _you _everymonth?"

"Er…" Remus said, biting his lip awkwardly.

"Come on, guys, not now," Peter said wearily.

"Let's just go finish up our homework," Remus offered.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Remus. I can think of a _million _more productive things we can do with our lives than _homework. _Merlin, what's your problem?"

Remus sighed. "Oh, dear me, you're right, of course. Whatever was I thinking?"

* * *

The three of them showed up at the hospital wing the next day with low hopes. Remus knocked on the door tiredly. None of them were actually expecting to get _in. _It had become a habit of theirs to show up every day. They were beginning to think that James was never going to get better, and would be living in the hospital wing for the rest of his life.

Life over the past week had been considerably dull for the boys without James. None of them had quite had the heart for pranking or sneaking around with one fourth of their group missing. It just wasn't the same without all of them.

The door opened, revealing Madam Pomfrey. She looked down at them, her lips pursed.

"Morning, Madam Pomfrey," Sirius said. "Can we see James today?"

Pomfrey sighed. "Five minutes," she warned them.

"Oh, come on, Madam Pomfrey, why can't we-" Sirius froze. "Wait, did you say _yes?_"

"Yes, Mr. Black," Pomfrey said impatiently. "Go on, then, before I change my mind!"

The three boys exchanged a quick look before darting past the nurse and into the stuffy hospital room.

"James!" Sirius said excitedly, his eyes whipping around the room, searching for his friend. His gaze landed on a bed in the corner. A mop of black hair was sticking out from some blankets, bent over something lying on his lap.

Remus, Sirius, and Peter hurried over to the bed. James glanced up from the parchment he was scribbling on, looking slightly surprise.

"Peter? Sirius? Remus?"

"James!" Peter said happily, beaming at him.

"Good to see you're alive, mate," Sirius said, looking relieved.

James chuckled lightly, folding the parchment and sticking it under his pillow. Remus followed it with his eyes, but didn't comment on it; instead, he smiled at his ill friend.

"How do you feel?" he asked, taking in James' appearance.

He definitely looked better than when he had collapsed. He was still pale, with dark bags under his eyes, and he appeared to have lost some weight. But his eyes were bright and gleaming with mischief, and his lips were turned up in an easy-going, relaxed smile.

"Just fine," James shrugged. "I felt okay two days ago, but Madam Pomfrey is insisting I stay here until I have all my strength back."

"What was wrong with you?" Peter asked, cocking his head slightly.

James sighed. "I was just very, very sick. Madam Pomfrey gave me some technical name for what I had, but I can barely even pronounce it, let alone remember it. But it's mostly passed by now."

"Man, you scared us half to death," Sirius said, sitting down at the foot of James' bed.

"Was it that bad?" James said, wincing slightly.

"_That bad?_" Remus asked incredulously. "You collapsed in the hallway-"

"You thought I was Peter," Sirius said grimly.

"And your father," Peter added.

"You kinda threw up all over the floor," Remus said.

"And completely embarrassed yourself in front of Lily Evans!" Sirius finished brightly.

James frowned. "Evans? What does she have to do with this?"

"Didn't Madam Pomfrey tell you?" asked Peter.

James rolled his eyes. "She told me _nothing. _I heard you guys trying to get in every day, but she refused to allow me visitors until now. It's ridiculous. Now, what does Evans have to do with anything?"

"_Lily _walked up right after you collapsed," Remus explained, joining Sirius on the bed. "She got Madam Pomfrey for us."

James groaned, putting his head in his hands. "Oh, the _shame,_" he muttered.

"She was really worried about you," Peter added.

James glanced up, raising an eyebrow. "_Evans_? Worried about _me?_ Good joke."

"It's true," Sirius said, nodding. "Pale and shaking, she was. Ah, come on, James, perk up. You should be happy about that!"

James stared at him. "Why?"

Sirius brushed his hair back, smirking. "Your one true love was worried about you! I'd say that's a step in the right direction, eh, Potter?"

James rolled his eyes. "I do _not _have a crush on Evans!"

"Sure you don't, James," Sirius said, patting him on the head and ignoring his grumpy look.

"_You're _the delusional one, Sirius," James muttered.

"You just wait," Sirius warned him. "Sooner or later you're going to admit it, and I'm going to be right there to tell you I told you so!"

"Oh, really?" James asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"When are you getting out?" Remus asked, trying to stop the impending argument.

"Tomorrow, hopefully," James said, smiling slightly. "I hate being stuck here, it's like a prison-"

"Alright!" Madam Pomfrey said, bustling over. "You've had nearly fifteen minutes; out, out!"

Sirius sighed, slipping off the bed. "Alright, alright. We're going. Bye, James."

"We'll see you tomorrow!" Peter said, smiling.

"I have all your homework stacked up and ordered by date," Remus said, nodding. "I'll help you with it when you get back."

James frowned. "Yay. Thanks, Remus."

Remus and Peter filed out. Sirius started to follow them, but James called him back.

"Sirius," he whisper-yelled. "Pssst, Sirius!"

Sirius turned back. "What?" he whisper-yelled back.

James glanced to the door to make sure Remus and Peter were gone. "Here," he said quietly, grabbing the parchment from under his pillow and handing it to Sirius. "I was working on this. Look at it later."

Sirius grabbed it, frowning. "What is it?"

James smiled grimly. "I had a lot of thinking to do over the past week. Just, review it, and tell me what you think."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about the wait, everyone! I hope you all liked this chapter; poor James! What has he been thinking about, and what is on the parchment he gave Sirius? Questions, questions…..**

**We're fast approaching the discovery of Remus' secret… but how much do you guys want it? Leave me a review, give me some feedback, and tell me whether you're looking forward to their discovery!**

**Thanks for all the reviews last chapter, and thanks so much for reading! Please leave a quick review! **

**I'll update soon!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	8. The Clues Add Up

**Chapter 8: The Clues Add Up**

Sirius and Peter sat on Sirius' bed, their heads bent over a sheet of crumpled parchment. Sirius was slowly shaking his head, staring at the words printed on the paper.

"I don't believe it," he muttered.

"What?" Peter asked, glancing up. "The dates?"

"No," Sirius murmured. "I don't believe James actually figured this out."

The page was covered in James' untidy writing. Sirius had been anxious to read it as soon as James had given it to him, but he had a feeling he couldn't let Remus see it. Thus so, he was pleasantly surprised when Remus announced that he had to go to the library. Shooing their friend away, Peter and Sirius had hurriedly retired to their dorm room to look at the paper.

A list of dates lined the center of the paper- every date that Remus had disappeared on. Scrawled in the corner was a note from James:

_Sirius,_

_I wrote down all the dates I could remember that Remus went missing on. With nothing to do, I asked Madam Pomfrey for a calendar. She was really confused, I'll bet, but that's not the point. Look what I found out. _

_-James_

At the very bottom of the parchment, written in large, bolded letters, were the words-

_Full Moons._

Sirius sat back, pushing the parchment away from him and scowling. Peter eyed his friend in concern.

"Sirius? What… what does this mean?"

Sirius slowly shook his head. "I don't know, Pete. We have to wait for James to come back before we can do some more research. But if this means what I think… Remus' secret is even larger than we originally thought."

LINE BREAK

It was another three days before James was released from the hospital. He stormed into the common room Monday evening, looking irritable.

"James!" Remus exclaimed, looking up from his homework. "You're out!"

"Good to see you, mate!" Sirius said, grinning at his friend.

James plopped down in the armchair next to them, scowling. "Hi," he muttered.

Peter frowned. "What's wrong?"

James huffed, crossing his arms. "Madam Pomfrey! She makes me lay in bed for like, two weeks, when I felt _perfectly fine, _and then releases me on a bloody Monday! If she was going to keep me there that long, she could have at least released me on, say, a Friday or something. No reason to do it right at the beginning of the week."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Come on, James. You would miss more class if you hadn't gotten out today."

James stared blankly at him. "_Exactly! _Now I have to go to class tomorrow."

Sirius chuckled, scrawling something on his homework. "Well, you definitely are going to be busy for the next week. Remus, can you go grab all the work he's missed?"

Remus nodded. "Sure; it's up in the dorm, one second."

The sandy-haired teen stood and crossed the common room, making his way to the stairwell leading to the dorms.

As soon as Remus was out of sight, James spun on Sirius and Peter. "Did you read my note?" he asked anxiously. The three hadn't been able to talk the past few days; Remus had been with them at every visit.

"Yeah, we read it," Sirius said quietly. "We were waiting for you to come back before we discussed it though."

"We need to visit the library and do some more research," Peter said earnestly. "Now that we know the days he's gone on, we can figure out just what's up with him."

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Voluntarily visit the library? Are you _mad?_"

"He's right, Sirius," James interrupted mournfully. "I know it's not exactly… like us… but it's the only option we have. We're _so close _to finding out what Remus is hiding; I can feel it."

"Full moons," Sirius said slowly, anxiety curling in his stomach. "Do you guys have… you know, the same idea that I have?"

James looked at his friend, fear and uncertainty growing in his eyes. "I don't know," he said quietly.

"Shh!" Peter said hurriedly. "He's coming back."

James sat back in his seat, and Sirius bent over his work again. Remus came over to their table, struggling under a pile of papers.

"Here you go," he said, setting it down on the table with a _thud._ "All the work that you've missed, James."

James took one look at the work and groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Does anyone know the killing curse? I would pay you to perform it on me right now."

Sirius smiled sympathetically, patting James on the back. "Have fun, buddy. And good luck. You're going to need it."

LINE BREAK

Because of James' enormous workload, the boys didn't have a chance to search in the library. James was so stressed with his missed work, and Peter, Remus, and Sirius were so busy helping him, they didn't have time to even think about what James had discovered.

On Friday afternoon, James chucked his quill across the common room. "Done!" he said loudly, grinning. "I've finished _everything! _No more work! Let's celebrate!" He jumped up, doing a sort of odd jig.

Sirius sat back in his chair, wiping his brow in exaggeration. "I swear, that pile just kept growing and growing," he said warningly. "I don't know what the teachers did to it, but more work kept popping up as we went along."

Remus rolled his eyes. "You're exaggerating. It wasn't _that _bad."

James glared at him. "Don't you _dare _say that monstrosity of a pile wasn't that bad, Remus Lupin! Maybe not to you, Mr. Brainiac, but to me, that was the most horrid week I've ever had!"

Sirius stood up, grinning broadly. "Let's head down to the Whomping Willow, shall we?" he said cheerfully.

Remus paled. "You're not still playing that stupid game, are you?" he asked. "Where you try to touch the trunk?"

"Sure," Sirius said, shrugging. "It's fun."

"You guys are going to hurt yourself," Remus warned. "I don't know why you find that amusing. That tree is deadly!"

"But it's fun," James pointed out. "You worry too much, Remus. We'll be fine."

Remus' face hardened. He scooped up his stuff, standing up. "If you want to risk your lives for an idiotic game, go ahead. Don't drag me into it. Have fun." He spun around and stalked away, back up to the dormitory.

James watched him go carefully. When he was gone, his face broke into a smile. "Good plan, Sirius! Now we can head to the library and search!"

Sirius frowned. "Plan? What plan?"

James blinked at him. "You know, to get rid of Remus so we can go to the library without Remus."

Sirius stuck out his bottom lip. "That wasn't a plan!" he said. "I want to go mess with the Whomping Willow!"

James raised an eyebrow. "We're going to the library, Sirius."

Sirius looked upset. "We just got finished with homework, and you want us to go to the library? No way!"

James rolled his eyes, standing up. "Come on," he said, yanking Sirius to his feet. Peter scrambled up after them.

"Jaaames!" Sirius moaned as he trailed out of the common room after James.

"Get over it, Sirius," James said, rolling his eyes.

"We're never going to get any work done," Peter muttered.

LINE BREAK

Sirius and Peter sat grouped around one of the small tables in the farthest back corner of the library. The room was musty with the smell of books and dimly lit by candles hanging on the walls. They hoped sitting this far back would decrease their chances to be heard, and they were correct. They were also given a very wide berth, however, because of simply the mere fact that they were _in _the library. As soon as the other students saw the three troublemakers sitting in the _library _of all places, they knew they must be up to no good. It was probably safer to stay away. Even Madam Pince found it odd and suspicious, and was watching them closely to make sure they weren't doing anything against the rules (which they were known to do).

James walked back over to the table Sirius and Peter were sitting at, flicking pieces of parchment at each other. He tossed a stack of calendars in front of them, interrupting their game, and pulled up one of the wood-backed chairs to join them.

"Sirius," he said, peering at the parchment, "read me the dates, will you?"

Sirius sighed, brushing his hair back, and looked down at James' notes. "January third," he read off.

James ran his finger along the dates, squinting through his glasses. "Aha!" he said proudly, fingering a square. "Full moon. Next?"

Peter peeked over Sirius' shoulder. "April seventeenth?" he asked, glancing over as James examined the right month.

James jabbed his hand at the seventeenth. "Full moon," he said confidently. "So, basically, this proves what I was telling you. Every single day that Remus disappeared on or around happened to fall on a full moon. Sometimes he would leave a day or two before, and almost always was gone a day or two afterwards, but every absence seemed to revolve around the full moon."

"Yes, but what does this mean?" Peter asked, looking down at the notes. "Okay, so we know when he disappears. I don't know how that will help us anymore."

Sirius frowned, staring down at his fingers. One could practically see the gears turning in his head as he thought.

"Peter, this helps us a lot!" James insisted, oblivious to Sirius' efforts. "We just need to match up the dates with the symptoms he shows."

"Like being really irritable and rude around that time," Peter muttered, leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah, he's not exactly a ray of sunshine around his disappearances," James agreed. "You know, I have noticed that he's extremely moody the few days before he goes away, and sometimes afterward. Like our- our spat last year?" James faltered slightly, tensing as he thought of the fight they had gotten into. Clearing his throat, he went on. "It happened, what, the day before he left? He was more irritated with us, and tense, too. Almost as if he was waiting for something, or expecting it, or-"

Suddenly, Sirius sprang to his feet. His chair clattered back, making a great noise and causing many students to jump. Across the room, Madam Pince glared at him.

"Shhh!" she hissed, eyes flashing dangerously in warning.

"Sirius, you'll get us kicked out!" James whispered, glancing at the angry librarian. "What's wrong?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

For he had noticed that Sirius was inexplicably pale. His eyes were wide, with something akin to realization and fear.

"Sirius?" Peter asked nervously, eyeing his friend.

"Wait here," Sirius said shortly. He spun on his heels and marched away into the rows of books.

James and Peter exchanged confused looks. James straightened his glasses, craning his neck to try and see what row Sirius had gone into.

"Dangerous Creatures," he muttered, noting the section of books the Black heir had entered. "Now what would he be looking for in there…?"

"I'm kind of scared," Peter mumbled, tapping his foot on the ground anxiously.

James couldn't help but silently agree.

Suddenly, Sirius burst from the shelves. He was holding a large, leather-bound book with crinkled yellow pages that looked as though it hadn't been opened in years. Sirius was already closely examining the pages, reading quickly through the articles.

"Sirius?" James asked cautiously as Sirius slammed the book down on the table.

"Read me Remus' symptoms," Sirius said tightly, thumbing through the pages.

Looking bewildered, James grabbed the parchment of notes and scanned through it. "Alright," he said. "Well, he always seems to be sick."

Sirius read something, then nodded tersely. "Go on," he said in a hoarse voice.

Gulping, James continued. "He- he's irritable and moody and his behavior seems to change around the time he disappears."

"He always comes back with injuries," Peter added. "Or he ends up in the hospital wing or St. Mungo's. Do you think that has something to do with it?"

"It has everything to do with it," Sirius said. His shoulders slumped, and he set the book down with a bang, ignoring the glare he got from Madam Pince. He shook his head, burying his face in his hands.

"Oh, no, Remus," he muttered. "I can't believe… anything but… oh, no…"

"Okay, I'm officially freaked out," James said, leaning slightly away from Sirius. "Care to enlighten us?"

Sirius looked up. Emotions danced through his eyes; emotions James couldn't name. "James," he said in a forced calm voice, "think about it. The big picture. What is your first thought when you hear all these clues? They all add up."

James shook his head, thinking. "I don't…" he stopped. His breath hitched, and his eyes widened. "Oh Merlin," he breathed out.

"What?" Peter asked, exasperated.

James shook his head again, as if he were trying to deny it. He looked at Peter, a miserable expression on his face. "Do you really not see it, Pete?" he asked softly.

Peter shook his head forcefully, frowning. "No!" he said sullenly.

Sirius dropped his head to his hands, shoulders hunched. Then, whispering so quietly the other two could barely hear him, he said, "Remus is a werewolf."

* * *

**A/N: OHMYMERLIN IT'S FINALLY HERE. They know, they know, they know! EEP! I'm like- I just- I'm so excited!**

**Sorry for the wait, I've been busy, and this was hard to write. And sorry if it's short; a lot more next chapter! But seriously, I'm excited now.**

**What do you guys think? Did I do alright? And when do you think they will confront Remus? Please leave a review! More reviews=Faster update!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	9. A Midnight Run

**Chapter 9: A Midnight Run**

There was a shocked silence. The three boys were so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Sirius refused to look up at his friends, instead contenting himself with keeping his head hidden in his hands. James was staring at the table, his face completely blank. Peter, his eyes wide, was looking back and forth between the two boys. His mouth moved but no words came out, making him look like a fish out of water.

"But- no- I-" he spluttered. "That- can't be!"

"It has to be," James corrected dully. "That's what Remus hasn't been able to tell us, all this time… and why he's acted so weird, and comes back with all these injuries… he's a werewolf."

Peter stared around, eyes as wide as saucers. "But werewolves are _dangerous_!" he protested. "Dumbledore wouldn't let a werewolf come to school!"

James let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, well, Dumbledore's a bit off his rocker, isn't he?" he asked quietly. "Maybe he didn't know…"

"Didn't know?" Peter asked incredulously. "How can he _not _know? Dumbledore knows everything!"

"Hmm, maybe you're right," James mused. "They had to have worked something out if Remus was allowed to stay here…"

"That's not what we need to figure out right now!" Peter exclaimed, sounding somewhat hysterical. "What do we do? Our roommate's a werewolf…"

Sirius' head suddenly shot up. "Shut it," he hissed, glancing around. "Just shout it to the world, why don't you."

James quickly turned to Sirius when he saw his friend reemerge. "What do we do, Sirius?" he asked worriedly.

Sirius scowled. "Why are you looking at me?" he demanded.

"Because you always have a plan!" Peter said. "And if we're going to be sharing our dorm with a werewolf-"

"We have to tell him," James cut in as Sirius shifted his glare to Peter.

"Curfew's in ten minutes," Sirius noted. "We have to head to the dorms anyways. We can chew him out then." He stood, shutting the book that had told them all they needed to know about Remus' 'illness'. "Come on. Let's go see if he'll spill his secret now."

* * *

Remus was lying on his bed, reading, when they walked in. The three boys shuffled inside uneasily, watching Remus closely. He didn't _seem _any different now that they knew his secret; on the contrary, he looked exactly the same.

When he heard the door open, he glanced up. "Oh, hey, guys," he said, yawning. "I thought the tree had eaten you or something."

"No, we're fine," Sirius said shortly, stalking over to his bed.

Remus looked taken-aback. Shutting his book, he sat up and said, "You alright, Sirius?"

Sirius snorted. "Oh, I'm fine. Perfectly dandy."

Frowning, Remus glanced at the other boys. Peter was staring at the floor with a worried expression on his face, and James was refusing to meet Remus' eyes.

"Alright then," Remus said slowly, sitting back down on his bed. "So, um… you guys ready for bed?"

"Yeah," Peter mumbled, shuffling his feet.

Remus shook his head. "You guys are acting really weird," he said, reaching into his trunk to grab his pajamas.

"Us?" Sirius snarled.

Remus frowned sharply at him. "Yes," he said, sliding back onto his bed. "Did something happen at the tree?"

"Nope, nothing," James said quickly, crossing over to his own bed.

Remus sighed, reaching up to pull the curtains shut so he could change.

Suddenly, Sirius said, "Why do you always pull the curtains shut when you change?"

Remus froze, his hand still wrapped in the fabric. "Well, I- I just-"

"Just what?" Sirius said, slowly walking over to him. "You're just hiding something, perhaps? There's a lot of things that don't make sense about you, Remus… where do you disappear to every month? Why do you come back with injuries? How many times has your mother been sick?"

"Sirius," Remus complained, hopping off the bed to stand up straight. "You said you weren't going to-"

"And what does all of this have to do with the full moon?" Sirius said bluntly, unable to stand it anymore.

The room went dead silent. All of the color drained from Remus' face, his eyes widening. James and Peter came to stand by Sirius, both of them watching Remus' closely.

Remus felt his heartbeat quicken. "I- it has nothing to do with the full moon, I don't know why-"

"Stop _lying!_" Sirius shouted. "We're not stupid, Remus, we matched up the dates! You always disappear on a full moon!"

Remus shook his head, taking a few steps back. "You're wrong. It doesn't-"

"Remus," James said quietly. "Please stop. Just… just tell us. Are you or are you not a werewolf?"

Everyone was silent, the two parties staring at each other. The entire castle seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for Remus to answer.

The werewolf in question felt as though the world was crashing down around him. His worst nightmare was coming true; his friends knew his secret. And he knew that things would never be the same after this. It had happened to him dozens of times, and all had the same outcome. If he was lucky, they would treat him as an outcast, or switch dorms. If they were particularly disgusted or angry, they would tell everyone, and he would have to leave the school. Or maybe they would even physically lash out at him, as that was also the typical response from most wizards.

Remus had _known _coming to this stupid school was a horrible idea. Straight from the start, he was separated from the rest of the students. For a while, he had thought maybe things would change; one blissful year of friendship and almost-belonging had been quite a change from what he normally experienced. But all that was about to fly out the window. There was no way his dorm mates would continue being friends with a werewolf. And he guessed it didn't help that he had lied to them.

He knew how Sirius felt about lying. His childhood was dark and secretive, and now that he was out of that phase of his life and had three great best friends, he expected there to be no secrets between them. His reaction last year would be enough to tell how he would react to the biggest secret Remus had ever kept. And now, that secret was out, and there was no taking it back.

All this Remus thought in the space of a few seconds. He stood there, frozen in shock, staring back at his friends. He felt as though he had been plunged into a pool of ice, and he was sure he was whiter than a sheet right now. He felt almost nauseous with nervousness as all three boys stared at him, expecting an answer at that moment.

"Remus?" Peter asked cautiously. "Remus, just… just tell us."

"Are you a werewolf?" Sirius repeated, a bit of the anger dying from his eyes. It was replaced with doubt; he was having second-thoughts on their analysis. Maybe this wasn't Remus' secret; anything but this. It was probably something really obvious or stupid, or maybe his disappearances had been one big joke on his friends. Maybe they're wrong, and he wasn't a werewolf. It was kind of a silly idea, anyways; he wouldn't honestly keep something like that from them, would he?

Remus felt the word slip out of his mouth without being really aware of what he was saying. In a strangled, trembling voice, he said, "Yes."

Peter let out a small whimper, shaking his head. James dropped down onto the bed, staring straight ahead in shock. They too had been nursing the idea that perhaps they were wrong, but here it was; the blatant truth, coming from Remus' own mouth.

All the color had dropped from Sirius' face. He stared at Remus, his jaw slackened, complete and abject horror in his eyes. As mad as he was at Remus, he had hoped against hope that he was wrong. Remus had had to deal with this… and because of his stubbornness, he had had to deal with it all on his own. He couldn't believe he had been able to keep such a big secret from them, and they had _lived _with him for a year.

Remus mistook the horrified looks on their faces. While they were simply wondering how Remus had dealt with this for who knows _how _long, he thought they were horrified at the prospect of being friends with a werewolf.

It was the last straw for Remus. He felt as though someone was driving a wooden stake through his heart, and he could feel tears pricking at his eyes. Swallowing them down, he cast his eyes to the ground, stepping forward.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, slipping past Sirius and hurrying to the door. "I'll… I'll go now."

He yanked open the door and fled out into the empty common room. Unhindered by any obstacles, he pushed the portrait door open and flew out into the cold corridors, sprinting as fast as he could.

Sirius was jarred back into motion when Remus pushed past him. "Wait- wait! Remus, stop!" he shouted, but the boy was already gone.

James leapt up from the bed. "We need to catch him," he said shortly.

"But he's faster than us!" Peter squeaked, following his two friends as they started running after Remus.

"He's been running his whole life!" Sirius shouted over his shoulder. "He needs to stop at one point. And when he does, we'll find him."

* * *

Remus felt himself stumble slightly, and came to an unsteady halt. Panting and clutching at a stitch in his side, he leaned against the wall for support. The cold stone cooled his warm skin, but did little to make him feel better. He struggled for breath, trying to draw in air even as hot, salty tears ran down his cheeks.

He looked around desperately, wishing for a place to hide. When he spotted a coat of armor standing just to his right, he lunged towards it, slipping behind it into the small crevice.

The space was tight, but well-sheltered. Thin slivers of moonlight streamed around the edges of the coat of armor, glinting off the metallic steel. Remus' face was thrown into deep shadows, the tear tracks shining in the dim light. Drawing his knees tight to his chest, Remus buried his face in his arms, as though he were trying to hide from the world.

What had started as a normal night had grown into the second worst night of Remus' life. For some reason, he had gone around with the absurd notion that no one would ever find out his secret, and he would be able to live a normal life at least for the time he was in Hogwarts. He was, of course, sadly mistaken; James and Sirius may appear to be idiots, but Remus knew them as two of the cleverest students in the school. He was actually quite surprised it had taken them this long to figure it out.

He would have to go to Dumbledore and explain what happened. Whether or not the elderly headmaster would send him away Remus didn't know. The man had seemed very supportive of Remus, but at one point he, too, had to stop deluding himself. A school was no place for a werewolf. In fact, there was no place a werewolf would ever fit in.

That was something Remus needed to learn before it was too late.

His shoulders shook as the tears turned to quiet cries. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was too old to blubber like a baby, but at this point, Remus didn't care. He had just lost his best friends and his spot at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in one night; he had a right to wallow in self-pity for a few minutes.

_Why _him? Why did he have to be the one to get bitten? If he had just paid attention and listened to his parents, he wouldn't be here right now…

Eventually, Remus felt the chill starting to get to him. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there; it could have been a few minutes, or a few hours. All track of time was lost as he sat there, silently crying, keeping his head ducked down. Shivering slightly, he curled up tighter against the wall, trying to find some warmth.

He heard footsteps down the hall. Lifting his head a little bit, he listened intently. His advanced hearing picked up the voices well before he should have:

"Where could he be?"

It was Sirius. Remus would recognize his best friend's voice anywhere.

"I told you, Sirius, I don't know." This time it was James' voice. He sounded exasperated, a tone he regularly used with Sirius.

"You don't think he's gotten himself hurt, do you?" Peter squeaked out, sounding nervous.

"He better not have," Sirius grumbled.

They were coming closer. Remus could hear the voices slowly getting louder as they advanced towards him. With an effort, he held his breath, feeling the unshed tears bubbling in his eyes as he struggled to stay silent.

"Bloody idiot," Sirius muttered, passing right by the coat of armor. Remus felt his heart skip a beat. Would they find him? "Running off like that…"

"Well, you can't really blame him, can you?" James said, sounding annoyed. "Seriously, did you have to be that blunt about it?"

"I just wanted answers!" Sirius whined. Their voices were slowly fading as they walked farther down the hall.

Unable to hold it back, Remus buried his face again and let out a small sob. Hearing them bicker like that was too normal, and it just reminded him that things would never be the same again.

Suddenly, Peter's voice trickled back to him. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" James asked. Their footsteps stopped as they came to a halt.

"It was like someone was crying…" Peter said curiously, turning back around. He trotted back down the hall, looking from side to side.

"Peter, it's an empty hall," James said, hurrying to catch up to the boy, who was moving at a rather fast pace. "How could you hear someone crying?"

"It's Hogwarts," Sirius noted, following after them. "There are a billion places people could hide in plain sight. Like…"

He stopped in front of the coat of armor. Remus stared fearfully at the crack, not daring to breath. "Behind a coat of armor, per say."

Sirius' head poked in. Remus jumped, pressing himself back against the corner as Sirius squinted right at him.

"There you are!" Sirius said, sounding relieved. "Honestly, you had us trooping around half the castle looking for you. It's freezing out here, come out."

Remus ignored him, leaning back against the cold stone and staring at the floor.

Sirius sighed. "Remus..."

"Just go away," Remus muttered. "I know you don't want me around anymore. Just go."

Frowning slightly, Sirius reached out, hooking a finger in Remus' sleeve and giving it a yank. "What are you talking about? Seriously, come out of there so we can all talk."

Remus flinches out of reflex, jerking out of Sirius' grip. He was expecting Sirius to hit him, although he knew deep down that the idea was completely insane; Sirius would never do anything to him. But Remus was too exhausted and worn out to care at that moment. He could feel weariness beginning to drag at his eyelids as the nervousness and pain he was feeling settled to a dull ache.

Sirius pulled his hand back, looking confused. He glanced back at James and Peter, who shrugged helplessly.

"Alright, then," Sirius said, plopping down lotus-style on the stones. "We're not going anywhere until you come out."

As if to prove their point, James and Peter sat down behind him, crossing their arms resolutely.

Remus slowly looked over at him. His eyes were shaded by shadows, but they clearly showed confusion and caution.

"What are you doing?" he mumbled.

James rolled his eyes. "Trying to keep you from doing something stupid. We were afraid you might have run into the Forbidden Forest or something to get away from us."

Remus shook his head slowly. "But… why?"

"We already told you!" Sirius exclaimed. "Because we thought you'd do something-"

"No, not that," Remus said impatiently. "I mean, why do you care? You know my secret now. You know I'm a… a werewolf. Why do you care?"

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. "Is that what this is about?" he asked, grinning at Remus.

Remus uncurled himself slightly, turning to glare at Sirius. "Why are you laughing?" he demanded. "It's not funny!"

James sighed, straightening his glasses. "Honestly, Remus. Of course we still care about you. You're our best friend, aren't you?"

Remus' glare dropped from his face. "Wait," he said, blinking. "I- what?"

"Did you think we'd stop being friends with you?" Peter asked softly.

"Well, yeah," Remus said uncertainly, looking from one boy to the next.

Sirius leaned back on his hands. "We're not going to ditch you just because you turn a little furry once a month," he said. "Everyone's always going on and on about how bad werewolves are. But I've known you for over a year, and not once have you done anything bad- well, except the whole lying thing, but I understand that now. And you do get a bit crabby around the full moon-"

"A bit?" James asked dryly.

"The point is," Sirius said, shooting a look at James, "you're our friend, Remy. And we're not going to abandon you over something like this. Although I'm still a little peeved at you for lying to us all this time." He shot Remus an annoyed look, but that was it.

Remus felt a bit of hope begin to bloom in him. Swallowing thickly, he watched his friends' closely.

"Seriously?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, that is my name!" Sirius said brightly, trying to cheer his friend up a bit.

James groaned behind him, but his cheesy joke elicited a small laugh from Remus. Smirking, Sirius clambered to his feet, dusting his hands off.

"Now will you come out?" James asked Remus. "I want to go back to bed."

Still looking kind of hesitant, Remus crawled out of the tight space. He stood up, making a face as his back cramped.

"Ouch," he muttered.

"Your fault for squeezing in there," Sirius countered. "Did you have to hide from us?"

"Yeah," Remus said. "I thought- well, I thought you might not-"

"You thought we might hate you," Sirius said flatly, his face falling.

Remus flushed. "Maybe."

James sighed. "Really?" he asked. "After all we've been through, you think we could hate you? We couldn't live without you, Remy. Who would we have to copy off of for homework?"

"I don't let you copy," Remus defended immediately.

"Sure you don't," James said.

"Why were you so sure that we would hate you?" Sirius said as the four of them started walking back to the common room.

Remus shrugged, scuffing his feet on the ground. He stood a little ways away from the group, arms crossed tightly over his slim chest. "It's happened a few times before," he admitted.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked quickly, anxious to know everything he could now that Remus wasn't keeping secrets.

Remus shook his head. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing," James said, frowning. "What happened, Remus?"

A look of realization passed over Sirius' face. "You thought I was going to hit you," he accused. "Back when you were hiding."

"Hit him?" Peter asked, blinking. "Why would you hit him?"

"Ask Mr. Mysterious over there," Sirius said, pointing at Remus.

They came to the portrait. Their conversation quieted for a few seconds as they spoke the password, slipping inside.

"It's nothing," Remus insisted.

"But-"

Peter let out a loud yawn despite himself, quickly clapping a hand over his mouth. James lay a hand on his shoulder, smiling gently at him.

"Sirius, give him a break," he said. "We should get to bed; I, for one, am exhausted. You're explaining _everything _tomorrow, though," he accused Remus.

Feeling uneasy, Remus nodded. Sirius huffed, crossing his arms, but nodded anyways. James steered Peter to the stairs, heading up to the dorms. Sirius turned to go after them, but Remus spoke.

"Sirius," he called out, stopping him.

Frowning, Sirius turned back to his friend. Remus was looking at the floor, wringing his hands and refusing to meet Sirius' eyes.

"I'm sorry," Remus muttered, not looking up.

Sirius sighed, stepping over to him. He put a hand on Remus' shoulder, squeezing firmly. Remus finally looked up, and met Sirius' gently smile.

"It's okay, Remy," Sirius assured him. "I understand now. But next time you have a secret… just tell us, alright? We aren't going to leave you for anything."

For the first time that night, a genuine smile broke out on Remus' face. "I promise."

* * *

**A/N: Mmmm, iffy about this chapter. I don't know, it was good enough, but just… I don't know.**

**Sorry for the wait, I was stuck in the mountains for a week with no wifi. But I finally wrote up the confrontation! Next up is mostly explanations, so… yup.**

**Tell me what you thought about this chapter, but please don't be too harsh. Thanks for reading, and I'll update soon!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	10. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Warning: Sadness and Fluffiness ahead. You have been warned.**

**Chapter 10: A Trip Down Memory Lane**

"James, scooch over."

"Shh, you'll wake him!"

Remus could practically hear Sirius roll his eyes. There was a moment of muffled movement, then a tense silence descended upon the room.

Yawning, Remus groggily opened his eyes. Sitting up, he pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, frowning. He had had the strangest dream, but he couldn't quite remember all the details. His memory was foggy, the gist of it disappearing into the fog. It was Saturday, if he recalled correctly, which meant another day of stupid pranks and homework procrastination from his friends.

Sighing, he dropped his hands. Remus was surprised to see all three boys gathered right across from him on Peter's bed, staring at him with serious expressions.

"Morning," he said hoarsely, stretching.

"Morning," Sirius said shortly. "Alright, explanation time."

Remus blinked at him. "What?"

"Sirius, you have to be more gentle about it," James scolded. Turning to Remus, he cleared his throat. "Explanation time. Since when are you a werewolf?"

Remus felt a spasm of fear shoot through him before the odd 'dream' he had had rushed back to him. He was horrified to discover that it wasn't a dream at all, but a memory from last night. Shaking his head, he let out a long groan, dropping his head into his hands.

"I am in so much trouble," he muttered. "Oh, Merlin, I'm dead. Dead, dead, dead, dead…"

"Remus?" Peter asked hesitantly. "Why are you dead?"

Remus' shoulders tensed. He snapped his head up to glare at the three of them. _It's too early for this. _He regretted it, however, when they appeared taken aback and a bit frightened by his attitude.

Great. He knew this would happen; they were scared of him. His eyes softened, and his shoulders slumped. "Nothing," he muttered. "It's nothing."

Sirius' eyes flashed. "It is not _nothing,_" he snarled. "We are _past _the lies, Remus! You tell us what's going on, or I'll… I'll…"

"Pinch him?" James suggested.

Sirius just stared at his friends. "Really, James? Out of all the things in the world, you would _pinch _him?"

"Hey, it's a liable defensive mechanism!"

Sirius shook his head, turning back to Remus. "Okay, you're going to start from the beginning," he demanded. "From the day you were bitten to now."

"What about breakfast?" Remus asked desperately, not wishing to have to explain.

Peter shook his head. "We already decided we could skip a meal," he said. "Go on, Remus."

Remus looked at each of their faces and saw determination and expectancy reflected back at him. Obviously, they were going to simply sit there until he spilled his entire life's story. Taking a deep breath, Remus looked down at the blankets and launched into the tale.

"I was four," he said quietly. The room went complete silent, his friends waiting with bated breath for him to continue. "My father… my father testified against a well-known werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. He was the worst sort of werewolf, the type that creates prejudice for all of us. He attained power over most of the Wizarding World with threats against their children; should they ever do anything to fight against him, he would bite their offspring. And he didn't regret it, either. There was no line separating human from beast in Greyback. He had a thirst for human flesh and blood, and actually _enjoyed _being a monster.

"Anyways, my father was sickened by the slaughter, and spoke out against Greyback to the Ministry. The werewolf was furious that my father had not heeded his warnings, and… well, he got his revenge one night…"

* * *

_October twelfth, 1964. Four year old Remus sat in the living room, playing with a pile of wooden blocks while his mother sat on the couch, nose buried in a thick book. Outside, the sun had disappeared from the sky, leaving the darker tones of nighttime. The two Lupin's were waiting for their last member, father and husband, to join them for the night; it was already 8:00, past Remus' bedtime. _

_The door flew open with a bang. Both Remus and Mrs. Lupin jumped, looking up to find Mr. Lupin hurrying inside. The man looked harried, rushed; he quickly shut the door behind him, turning the lock as fast as he could._

_"Daddy!" Remus said, beaming up at him._

_"Hello, dear," Mrs. Lupin said, getting to her feet. She frowned slightly, laying her book aside when she saw how upset her husband looked. "Max?"_

_Mr. Lupin's blue eyes met hers. His face was pale and grim, his eyebrows furrowed. He swept his gaze around the living room, and seemed to relax slightly when he saw his son._

_"Helen," he said in a quiet but tense voice. "I need to speak with you."_

_Mrs. Lupin looked bewildered, but she slowly nodded. Bending down next to Remus, she gently pushed back his hair. "Remus, sweetheart," she said softly, "it's time for bed. Do you want me to tuck you in?"_

_Remus blinked up at her with big brown eyes before sending her a toothy smile. "No," he said, "I'm a big boy! I want Freddie, though."_

_"Freddie should be in the kitchen," Mrs. Lupin said, smiling slightly. Their cat was nearly always in there, skulking around for her next meal. "You can go get her, then head on up to bed, sweetie."_

_Remus nodded eagerly. "Kay," he said, cleaning up his blocks and dumping them back in the bucket._

_Mrs. Lupin swiftly pressed a kiss to Remus' forehead before standing back up. Mr. Lupin replaced her, leaning down next to his son._

_"Remus," he said, in such a serious voice Remus stopped cleaning up and looked at him, "go straight to bed. Do you hear me? Don't open any windows, don't go outside. Go right upstairs; I'll be up there in five minutes to say goodnight. I just need to explain something to your mother really fast. Do you understand me?"_

_Remus nodded his head, sandy curls bouncing on his dead. "Yes, Daddy."_

_Mr. Lupin spared him a strained smile. "Thanks, kiddo. Head on up to bed, alright?"_

_He ruffled his sons' hair. Remus giggled before clambering to his feet and trotting into the adjoining kitchen. As the door swung shut behind him, his parents' whispers began, a secret discussion not meant for Remus' ears._

_"Freddie," Remus whispered, creeping into the kitchen. "Here, kitty kitty. Come on, it's time to go to bed!"_

_He peeked under the table, lifting the tablecloth to see underneath. "Come out, kitty!"_

_"Meow."_

_Remus spun around. Freddie sat right by the door, licking on of her paws. Feeling Remus' gaze on her, she looked up at him with her bulbous yellow eyes, black ears twitching._

_Remus smiled, getting up off his knees. "There you are! Come on, let's go to my room."_

_He teetered closely, but the cat had other ideas. Letting out another soft purr, it turned and darted through the small cat flap the Lupin's had installed in the back door exactly for this purpose._

_Remus felt a pout grace his face. Freddie wasn't supposed to be out at night. Besides, he wanted her in his bedroom that night, especially with Mommy and Daddy acting so weird._

_Remus shot a quick look at the closed door. His parents were still in the living room, talking. Surely one little trip outside to grab Freddie wouldn't hurt, would it? He was always allowed to go outside, and he was just going to get his cat. It would take thirty seconds, tops. Remus had plenty of time before his parents would notice._

_Tiptoeing over to the door, Remus stood on his toes and stretched to turn the lock on the door. He was met with success as the door clicked open. He turned the doorknob and gently pushed the door open._

_"Freddie," he whispered. "Come on, Freddie, come back in."_

_Remus quietly left the safety of the house, creeping into his backyard. The darkness of the night pressed in on him, speeding up his heartbeat. He had never been a big fan of the dark. The trees and plants around him cast unnatural shadows that looked too much like monsters for Remus' liking. _

_The only light to see by was the full moon, shining bright and yellow overhead. Remus had always liked the full moon. It had a certain magic to it, something special that had always seemed invigorating to Remus, like the moon could make wondrous things happen._

_He stood in the center of the yard, nervously wringing his hands. A cold breeze whistled through the yard, ruffling his hair, and Remus shivered from the chill. Anxious eyes swept across the foliage, searching for the cat; he wished he hadn't come out now._

_"Freddie?" he asked a little louder._

_"Meow."_

_Remus felt relief seep through him when he caught sight of Freddie's big yellow eyes looking at him from under a bush. Giggling softly, Remus walked forward, bending down close to the leaves. _

_"Come on, Freddie," he said, reaching a hand in to grab for the cat. "Let's go in."_

_Something swiped at his hand. Remus gasped in shock and pain, drawing his hand back close. Blood was already running from four gashes across his hand that looked distinctly like claw marks. Remus gulped slightly; Freddie had never scratched him before._

_A deep growling emerged from the bushes. Remus' eyes widened, and he stared at the bush, heart thumping wildly._

_"F-Freddie?" he squeaked._

_There was a snarl, and then it was on him. Remus screamed in pure terror as a mass of grey fur threw itself at him, pinning him down to the ground. He flailed his arms about, kicking and scratching at whatever flesh he could find, but it was no use; in less than three seconds, he was completely subdued by the creature._

_The smell was what hit Remus first. A mix of wet dog fur and the metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils, choking him. When he looked up, he found himself staring into the yellow eyes he had seen watching him, but these weren't his cats' eyes. These eyes held something much more malevolent, something so terrifyingly wild that made Remus freeze._

_The beast-wolf thing snarled, pressing down on Remus' shoulders with his front paws. Remus whimpered, ivory tears coursing down his cheeks as claws slashed through his tender skin like a hundred tiny needles, sending pain coursing through his tiny body._

_"MOMMY!" he screeched at the top of his lungs. "DADDY! SOMEONE, HELP ME!"_

_There was muffled shouting from inside the house. Doors flew open, and his parents burst out into the backyard. When Mrs. Lupin saw the werewolf crouched over her son, she screamed, pressing both her hand to her mouth. Mr. Lupin ran forward, pure terror on his face._

_"Greyback! Greyback, let him go, he's only a child!" he shouted at the beast._

_"DADDY!" Remus screamed, struggling to free himself._

_The beast snarled at Mr. Lupin, as if it were trying to convey a message: You're too late. Remus saw a flash of decaying yellow teeth and suddenly his body was on fire._

_He let out a blood-curdling scream, much worse than the ones he had been giving off earlier. This was worse than any pain he had ever felt, it was agony, torture, wracking his body and making him convulse… he was only dimly aware when the beast jumped off of him, departing into the night. He was still screaming as his parents fell to their knees beside him, his mother stroking his hair and choking out comforting words through her sobs, his father desperately pressing his t-shirt to the wound in Remus' shoulder to help stop the bleeding, but it was too little too late, nothing could change the irreparable damage Greyback had brought upon Remus… already the poison was coursing through his veins, and Remus could feel it, like liquid fire, rushing through his body… surely it would kill him, no one could withstand this pain, let alone a four year old…_

_Yet Remus Lupin did not die. He was condemned to a fate much worse than that, worse than death itself. That was his last full moon as a human. Every full moon thereafter, Remus was forced to change into a terrifying beast, and his parents were forced to chain up their four year old son. Fenrir Greyback had not only cursed Remus to a life as a monster, an outsider, he had also stripped him of any and all childhood innocence. Remus was brought face to face with the harsh reality of the world, struggling with the weight of the world on his shoulders._

_His parents knew. When they had finally gotten Remus into the house and had managed to calm his screams into whimpers, Mr. Lupin had stormed back outside. Mrs. Lupin sat next to her son, eyes dry, face pale and shocked as she slowly stroked his hair. Her husband had just been warning her of the danger their son was in, making plans to get him to safety, when their worst nightmare had come to reality._

_Mr. Lupin stumbled outside, stricken with grief. He dropped to his knees, screaming into the night for Greyback to come back, to fight him; he could take that lowly bastard, nothing could stop him from taking revenge. But Greyback had done his job, and taught Maxwell Lupin a lesson he would never forget._

_Burying his head in his hands, he sank to the ground, sobs wracking his body. He cried, because he knew the hardships Remus would be forced to live with for the rest of his life. Already marked as a monster at the tender age of four. He cried because he knew Fenrir had broken their family with one swift bite to the shoulder. He cried because he knew it was his fault. It was all his fault. He had done this, given this life to his son, and there was nothing he could do to change it._

_It was all his fault…_

* * *

When Remus finished his story, he was shocked to find himself sitting in his dormitory. For a while, he had been the Remus from his memories, the four year old that had had the world pulled out from beneath him. He was white and shaking, and unconsciously clutching onto his shoulder where the scar from that horrible night still remained. He swallowed thickly, struggling to keep back tears.

Peter, James, and Sirius sat across from him on the bed, shell-shocked. Peter looked nearly as scared as Remus, and looked like he was going to burst into tears at any moment. James was just sitting there, opening and closing his mouth, completely speechless. Sirius, tight-lipped and tense, was as pale as a ghost, shaking slightly- whether with anger or fright, no one could tell.

"And… and that's it," Remus said hoarsely, unsure of what to say now. He clenched his fists tightly, cutting small crescents into his palm where his fingernails dug into his skin.

"Four," James said dully, staring at a spot on the wall. He appeared disconnected, not quite there. "You were four."

Peter buried his face in his hands, shaking his head. Sirius, however, locked eyes with Remus, a grim expression on his face.

"Show me," he said quietly.

Remus didn't even have to ask. Not hesitating- hey, what else did he have to lose?- he pulled down the sleeve of his shirt, revealing his white, scarred shoulder. The bite marks were still clearly visible, a token of that fateful night all those years ago.

Peter peeked up at it and let out a small whimper, hiding his face again. Remus dropped his hands, shaking harder than ever; tears slipped from his eyes, warm and salty, and he did nothing to stop them. He hadn't relived that night in years, preferring to push it to the back of his memory. He felt empty, cold, and so _hurt. _How could anyone have done that to him? It felt like he had gone through the events of that night all over again, the wounds fresh and stinging.

Suddenly, arms wrapped around him. He blinked slowly, turning to see Sirius sitting next to him. One arm was wrapped around Remus' shoulders, drawing him close.

"You're alright," Sirius said quietly.

Remus broke down completely. Sobbing, he buried his face in Sirius' shoulder, crying his eyes out. Sirius wrapped him in a hug, gently patting his back, and he was aware of James lowering himself onto the bed next to him, leaning up against him as a sign of support. Peter joined them, his mere presence enough for Remus.

They sat like that for a long time. Remus cried, still in Sirius' embrace, and the other two provided whatever comfort they could. All three were shaken by seeing Remus like this; he was normally so calm and collected, except for those few rare instances when he slipped. But that's what his friends were for; to pick him up and get him going again when he needed them most.

Eventually, Remus began to calm down. His sobs turned to soft cries, then those subsided into hiccups. Wiping his eyes, he gently untangled himself from his friends' hold, wiping his eyes.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I… I just…"

"Hey, it's alright," James said softly, straightening his glasses. He smiled gently at him. "That… that must have been so hard for you. I can't even imagine…" he gulped, shaking his head. "Of course you're shaken up. Thanks… thanks for telling us, though."

"I needed to tell you," Remus said quietly. "You don't know how difficult it was for me to lie to you, especially after all you've done for me. But I _couldn't _tell you…"

"We understand," Peter said.

"Remus," Sirius said in a strange voice, "what happened to your father?"

Remus felt his throat close. Swallowing thickly, he said gruffly, "He died when I was nine. Heart-attack in his sleep."

Sirius took a shaky breath. "Sorry," he murmured.

Remus shook his head. "It's… it's fine. Like I said, I need to tell you everything."

"Everything," James said, "like why you come back with injuries all the time? What happens then?"

Remus rubbed his eyes, feeling completely worn out. "I do them," he muttered. "That shack on the hill? I go there every full moon, locked up. But since the wolf… I have nothing to do, no one to… you know, I do it to myself."

Peter looked faintly green. "You hurt yourself?" he asked.

Remus nodded, ashamed. "Yeah," he said, picking at the blanket. "I can't help it…"

James ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. He sighed heavily. "My parents know, don't they?" he asked.

"Yeah, your mom knew the second she met me," Remus said. "Same with your dad. They promised not to tell you, though."

"I knew it," James muttered. "They _were _hiding something."

Remus looked around at the three of his friends, sitting around him, and suddenly it hit him: _they were still here. _They had heard his story, his full story, they knew what he was, yet they still sat with him, even _comforting _him. He watched them with awe, marveling in their bravery and steadfast loyalty. What other twelve year old boys would stick with their friend even after learning he was a werewolf? A dangerous monster?

"What?" Sirius asked, watching Remus. "Something wrong?"

Remus shook his head. "No, I just… I can't get over the fact that you don't hate me," he said, frowning. "That's not exactly the reaction I'm accustomed to getting."

"What _is _the reaction you're used to getting?" Peter asked, cocking his head.

Remus shrugged. "Oh, same old, same old. Shunning. Bruises. Yelling. What werewolves usually get."

James narrowed his eyes. "People have hit you?!" he hissed.

"Well, yeah," Remus said, confused by their sudden hostility. "What would you expect? I'm a werewolf."

"But that doesn't mean you should be hit!" Sirius exclaimed, looking furious. "They have no right to touch you! Just because you have a disease that makes you grow fur once a month doesn't mean you should be instantly hated!"

Remus snorted. "A little furry? Aren't you leaving out the claws and the whole _monster _thing? Besides, any _sane _person would be scared of me," he said pointedly.

"Well luckily for you, we believe in maintaining a perfectly healthy level of insanity," James said, his lips twitching. "And will you stop going on about you being a monster? It's like you want us to change our minds and get you expelled from Hogwarts."

"No, no," Remus said quickly. "Please, don't."

Sirius laughed slightly. "Alright then, we won't. Next order of business: Is there anything we can do to help you?"

Remus looked taken-aback. "_Help me?_" he asked, shocked.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yes, help you. You know, with your transformations. Anything?"

Remus shook his head, still looking surprised. "Uh, no. There's nothing you can do about lycanthropy."

James frowned sharply. "Darnit," he muttered.

Remus stared at them. "You guys… want to help me?" he asked slowly.

"Well, duh," Peter said, "I doubt turning into a werewolf is pleasant."

"Don't worry, we'll think of something," Sirius said confidently. "Just you wait… I'll start brainstorming…"

Remus shook his head again. "You guys are completely nuts," he said. "But… you're also the best friends I've ever had."

James smirked. "Aw, Remy, I know. What would you do without us?"

There was a beat of silence before all four of them exploded into laughter. They spent the next few hours until lunch discussing everything, divulging secrets never before told, and laughing their butts off at the stupidest jokes. And all the while, Remus felt as though he was on top of the world.

His friends had found out his secret, but they hadn't hated him, as he had thought they would. Instead they accepted him, and the friendship they had formed just last year strengthened ten-fold with the absence of secrets stopping their progress.

The four of them were brothers, and nothing would ever change between them- not if they could help it.

* * *

**A/N: It's so fluffy, I think I'm gonna die!**

**Really sappy stuff, the whole thing, really, but I think it called for it for this chapter. And I wanted to try my hand at something I had never really done before… I hope it was okay…**

**Remus' story was sad. I was like, aww, sad now. The ending was a bit naïve of him, though. Poor Remus, I still have a lot planned for you four… *evil smirk***

**Sorry for the wait, but this chapter took a bit of time for me to write. I should be back on track now, now that all that serious stuff is over (for now). **

**Next chapter will probably be a full moon! If you enjoyed reading this or have anything at all positive to say about it, PLEASE leave a review! It would mean the world to me. Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	11. A Stampede of Flobberworms

**Chapter 11: A Stampede of Flobberworms**

The next day no one spoke of what had happened in the dormitory. Remus was quiet, only speaking when he had to, and the others, understanding that it had been hard for him, left him to his own thoughts for the most part.

But their friendship had shifted, in a way that was quite obvious to anyone who bothered to observe them closely. James, Sirius, and Peter seemed to surround Remus as he walked, shielding him from anyone that could cause him harm. The slightest move anyone made towards the young werewolf would instantly be stopped by the three of them, who were more overprotective than ever after learning Remus' secret.

Remus found that quite amusing, actually, although he didn't say anything. Instead of being scared of him, as they ought to be, they were _protecting _him; he, a werewolf who turned into a monster once a month. But he was so grateful it made his chest ache, simply because they still cared enough to do so.

When Remus woke up the next morning, his limbs ached. He lay in bed for another five minutes, staring up at the silky canopy overhead. A dull throbbing had started behind his eyes, pounding on the inside of his skull. He didn't even bother to put up the pretense of wondering why he felt this way.

Tonight was the full moon. He had nearly forgotten because of all the events of the past week, but now there was no way to postpone thinking about it. It was the first full moon that the others would know about, and even though they had said they accepted Remus, he was still a bit worried. Saying and doing were two very different things; what if they decided that they didn't want to be friends with a werewolf after he came back with self-inflicted wounds, exhausted from transforming into a monster?

Then he shook himself forcefully. He was being ridiculous; they were his friends. They wouldn't do that to him.

Scowling as his muscles ached, he pushed himself up and drew back his curtains. Peter was already up, furiously writing what looked to be a letter. He looked up when Remus poked his head out and smiled.

"Morning, Remus," he said in a quiet voice. "I was just about to wake you; breakfast is in ten minutes. Sirius and James aren't up yet."

There was a groan from James' bed before the boy sat up, looking groggy and half-awake. "Some'n say my name?" he slurred, letting out a yawn.

Remus shifted his shoulders experimentally, feeling exhaustion settle over him. "Wakey wakey," he muttered under his breath, taking a deep breath. In a stronger voice, he said, "Wake Sirius. Breakfast is in ten minutes."

James shot him a look. "Me? It's _your _turn to wake the monster. Besides, you're better at it; you rarely ever get hit. I think he likes you better," he finished with a pout.

Remus bit back the sudden irritation that swept over him. He did _not _want to deal with morning-Sirius at the moment. Nonetheless, he took another deep breath and stomped over there, his mouth set into a scowl.

"Sirius," he said in a low voice, stopping beside the boy's bed, "get out of bed. Now."

The lanky teen tipped his head back against the pillows, not hearing Remus.

The werewolf poked him forcefully in the side. "Sirius!" he hissed.

Grunting, Sirius smacked at Remus' hand and flipped over, squeezing his eyes shut.

Clenching his fist, Remus leaned down so he was nearly touching Sirius ear. "BLACK! GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED!"

Sirius let out a strangled gasp, sitting straight up. He looked around wildly, and when he saw Remus standing over him with his arms crossed, he glared at him. Behind him, James and Peter were laughing at his reaction.

"Bloody hell, Remus!" he exclaimed, putting a hand to his ear. "Was it really necessary to crack my eardrums?"

"Well if you had gotten your lazy arse out of bed faster, I wouldn't have had to," Remus snarled at him.

Sirius blinked, taken-aback. "Oookay. No need to give me attitude."

Remus rolled his eyes before stomping over to his trunk. Snatching his robes and toiletry items out of his trunk, he strode over to the bathroom.

"Remus?" James asked cautiously. All three of them were frowning sharply. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Remus said shortly before slamming the door so hard the framing shook.

Sirius blew a tuft of hair out of his eyes. "Touch-y," he said, raising his eyebrows at the other two.

"What's wrong with him?" Peter asked in bewilderment.

James frowned thoughtfully before he seemed to realize something. "Oh!" he said, leaping across his bed and reaching down for his trunk. He rifled in it, biting his lip as he searched.

"Don't you go all wacko on me too, James," Sirius warned, watching as James' eyes lit up.

"Shut up, Sirius," James said absentmindedly, sitting back up with something clutched in his hands.

Peter cocked his head. "Is that a calendar?" he asked, looking at the item James held.

"Yuppers," James said cheerfully, clicking it open and scanning the pages.

Sirius bit back a laugh. "With pictures of _cats_?" he asked, going closer to get a better look.

James shrugged, not embarrassed in the slightest. "Mum gave it to me for my birthday. I think she's training me to be a cat woman when I grow up…" He stopped and jabbed at the page. "Here!" he said excitedly.

"'Here' what?" Sirius asked impatiently as James read over whatever the calendar foretold.

James looked up at the other two, the excitement fading from his face. His hazel eyes flicked to the closed bathroom door. "Tonight's the full moon," he said in a low voice.

Realization flashed across Sirius' face. "Oh," he said quietly. Peter bit his lip nervously, frowning at the floor.

"That's why he's so short-tempered," James noticed. "It's one of the symptoms of lycanthropy- I read about it- along with nausea, fatigue, headaches, abdominal pain-"

"We get it, James," Sirius interrupted. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Merlin, you sound like a bloody healer…"

"You're funny," James said flatly.

"What do we do?" Peter asked warily.

Sirius shrugged. "See how long he tries to hide it, then force him to the hospital wing when it gets too bad," he suggested.

"That works," James said, sending him a grim look.

In the bathroom, Remus stood by the sink, bracing himself against the wall. Sandy hair fell into his eyes as he breathed heavily, biting back the sudden wave of nausea that had come over him. Completely unaware of the conversation happening just on the other side of the door, he brought his head up to look at his reflection in the mirror, wondering if he could simply pass of his illness as a common cold.

He nearly winced at the sight of the dark bags rimming his eyes, sticking out in stark contrast to his pale skin. He looked exhausted and ill, point blank, and with is friends' new awareness to him, he doubted he would get away with it for very long. But he had to at least try; they couldn't know what today was. Yes, they did behave very much like stalkers most of the time, but Remus had nearly forgotten it himself. With everything that had been going on, there was no way they would remember that today was a full moon. And although he knew it was inevitable that they would find out, especially when he disappeared later on, he could prolong the moment for as long as possible.

Taking a deep breath, he straightened his shoulders, ignoring the stiffness in them. Running shaky fingers through his hair in an attempt to make himself appear more awake, he pushed open the door, slipping back into the dorm.

"Come on," he muttered, not looking at his friends. "We'll be late for breakfast."

"We're already late," Sirius pointed out, tugging his robe over his head. "What's a few extra minutes?"

Remus shot him a sharp look. "It's exactly that sort of attitude that lands you in detention," he shot at his friend. "No wonder you're always late to classes…"

"This is completely different!" Sirius protested. "It's only breakfast, anyways. And I am not late to classes!"

Remus rolled his eyes and, opting to ignore his friend, swept over to his bedside, where he quickly tidied his things.

Sirius exchanged a sour look with James, but the latter simply shook his head warningly. _Just ignore him,_ he said with his eyes.

Sirius scowled at him and turned away.

When they were all ready to go, the four of them made their way down to the Great Hall. The walk there was a quiet ordeal; Peter and James maintained idle chitchat about stupid things like the weather, but Remus and Sirius both stayed silent. Remus was dragging his toes along the ground, frowning. His head was throbbing, and though he did his best to ignore it, it was like a drum beating on the inside of his skull. _Not _a pleasant experience.

The hall was almost full when they walked in, with only a few stragglers trickling in at the last minute. James led the way over to their usual spot at Gryffindor table, plopping down in his seat. Sirius slid in next to him, and Remus sat across from them, still looking rather sullen.

"You sure you feel alright, Remy?" James asked lightly, peering at him closely through his glasses.

Remus blinked once before plastering a fake smile on his face. "Yup!" he said brightly. "I'm fine!"

Still looking doubtful, James nodded before reaching out to grab a piece of toast. Peter was the only one to notice the smile slip off of Remus' face as soon as James looked away, a frown stretching instead across his lips. Peter looked on worriedly but said nothing.

Halfway through breakfast, Sirius spoke. "Why don't you eat something, Remus?" he asked casually.

"Hmm?" Remus had been busy poking at his eggs, feeling slightly nauseous. Now he looked up to see all three of his friends staring at him with raised eyebrows and accusatory looks. "Not hungry…" Remus murmured, disconcerted by the attention.

"But you must eat something," James said, giving him a look of pure innocence.

Remus shoved his plate away. "I'm not hungry," he said in a tone a little sharper than was needed.

James put his hands up in surrender, looking only a little surprise by the sudden burst of temper. "Alright, alright," he said, shaking his head lightly.

The three scarfed down their meal as quickly as they could, as they were already late. When they finished, Remus forced himself to stand, leaning heavily on the table for support. The drum in his head was beating with more force even as he trailed after his friends to class, and he felt completely exhausted. He cursed in his head, feeling thoroughly irritated by the symptoms that came with being a werewolf. It was bad enough he had to change into a monster once a month; did he really have to spend the day before it feeling as though he had the flu?

"Hey, Remy? Earth to Remus…"

Remus snapped out of the little daze he had succumbed to during the walk to Transfiguration. Sirius stood in front of the open door, looking at him with a quizzical look.

"Are you _sure _you're okay?" he pressed, stressing the word 'sure'.

"Yes," Remus said pointedly. "I just… blanked out there for a little. Sorry."

Sirius gave him a small smile- but it looked pretty forced. "Hey, if that's all it is, no biggie," he said lightly before turning and walking into the classroom.

As Remus took his seat, he hoped vaguely McGonagall would give them wand-work to do. Physically performing the spells may wake him up a little, and would require him to focus harder. To his dismay, however, the first thing their stern-looking professor said when the class had settled was, "Wands away, please."

Holding back a groan, Remus dropped his wand back into his bag. All around him there was a rustle of paper as everyone pulled out parchment and quills, ready to take notes.

"The transfiguration of liquid to solid is a feat that is only achieved through hard work and competent spellwork," McGonagall began her lecture. "The first choice for changing the nature of these objects is, of course, water to ice, as they share common traits…"

Remus leaned his head on his fist, staring hard at McGonagall. He had to focus. He had to put aside the fact that his face prickled with heat while the back of his neck was cold enough to send shivers down his spine. He didn't care about how his stomach was now twisting itself into knots, or that the longer he sat there, the more his head hurt. It didn't even bother him that the room was now becoming curiously fuzzy around the edges, or that McGonagall's voice seemed far away, maybe on a different planet. What was she lecturing about again? Ice? Remus wouldn't mind some ice right now. His face felt unbelievably hot… maybe he could get someone to open a window…?

Someone poked his shoulder. Stirring from the daze he had settled into, he slowly turned his head to see James, Sirius, and Peter staring at him with worried expressions.

"Remus," James whispered, "tell us the truth. _How do you feel?_"

Remus briefly debated lying to them again, but the drum in his head struck up a new, louder beat at that precise moment. Wincing, he pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling how cool it was against his hot skin.

"I don't think I'm well," he said hoarsely.

That's all it took. James raised his hand promptly, turning to face McGonagall, who looked quite surprised that someone was interrupting her lecture- let alone James Potter, of all people.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The class turned as one to look at the interrupter, but James was completely unperturbed. "Remus wasn't feeling well, Professor," he said easily. "I was wondering if I could take him up to the hospital wing."

Frowning, McGonagall looked Remus over. A look of realization dawned briefly on her face before she nodded sharply. "Very well," she said. "Be sure to hurry back."

James practically jumped out of his chair, reaching over to grab Remus' bag for him. Aware of all the eyes on him, Remus did his best to hurriedly rise out of his seat, trying not to look too ill. He and James quickly walked over to the door and slipped into the empty corridor outside.

Remus swallowed, looking at James out of the corner of his eye. "I can take my bag," he said quietly, holding out a hand.

"Don't be stupid," James said lightly, not looking at him.

Remus dropped his hand back to his side. Looking down at the stone floor below, he began the slow, familiar walk to the hospital wing. James walked beside him, slowing down his pace to match Remus'. Neither of them spoke or even looked at each other.

As he walked, Remus felt a wave of guilt wash over him. It was absurd, really, but he felt guilty for hiding this from his friends. By the way James was acting, it was obvious they had known all along today was the full moon, and simply hadn't said anything. And Remus got the feeling James was disappointed in him- they all were. After everything they had been through, they deserved to know when it was the full moon. It was only habit that had been holding Remus back from confiding in them. He wasn't accustomed to being able to tell people when he wasn't feeling well, and now that he could, he was struggling to get used to it.

He wanted to say something, anything to stop the burning shame rising within him, but his mind was a blank. So he simply focused on putting one foot in front of the other and trying to stay on his feet.

James held the door open for him when they reached the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey looked up as Remus shuffled in, feeling extremely weary.

"Remus!" Madam Pomfrey said, corking the potion she had been inspecting. Standing she swept her eyes over him before walking over to a bed to get it ready. "Come on, then, you'd better lie down… thank you, Mr. Potter, you may return to your class now."

"Sure thing, Madam Pomfrey," James said. Remus stood there awkwardly as his friend dropped his bag off by the bed before returning to the door.

"James," Remus said softly.

The boy paused with his hand on the doorknob. He turned to look back at Remus, eyebrows raised.

"Thanks," Remus said quietly.

James twitched his lips up into a half-grin. "No problem," he said.

Remus caught his eye. They stared at each other for a moment before he said, very quietly, "I'm sorry."

He wasn't sure it was conveying how he felt fully, but James seemed to understand. His gaze softened, his lips spreading into a small smile. "It's okay, Remus," he said lightly. "Feel better."

Remus nodded once, unable to say anything else.

James left the room with a small smile on his face.

LINE BREAK

Remus' mind was in turmoil as he sat in the shack later that day. He nervously picked at his sleeve, glancing out the window. The full moon had not yet risen, but would in only ten minutes. Remus could tell; his body was alert, ready for the painful shift.

Anxiety filled the young werewolf's mind. So many things could change tonight. He knew it would only make it worse for him if he stressed right before he transformed, but he simply couldn't help it. What if his friends were, right now, deciding on how they were going to get rid of him?

Remus let out a small nervous laugh. He was being ridiculous.

Wasn't he?

Five minutes to go. He ran his fingers along a deep scratch gouged into the scuffed floor, a mark left there by one of his past transformations. His finger was small enough to fully fit inside of it. It never ceased to astound him, seeing the things he could do when he was a werewolf; he had never been present to see it himself, as he was always lost in the wolf's mind. But he was sure it was terrifying.

Two minutes. He tapped his foot anxiously, biting his lip. He breathed in and out, trying to calm his breathing.

One minute. A faint glow appeared at the window. All at once, panic rose within Remus, the panic he always felt right before the full moon. He jumped to his feet. His breathing came faster and more abrupt, and he cast his eyes around, looking for anything that could help him. He knew from past experience that ducking underneath something wouldn't stop the transformation, so what was the point? Remus was doomed.

Thirty seconds until he transformed.

His heart beat frantically against his ribs. Wrapping his slim arms around himself, Remus squeezed his eyes shut. He wondered briefly if this full moon would kill him- and whether he would mind very much if it did.

Fifteen seconds. Remus began to shake.

Ten.

With five seconds to go, Remus opened his eyes and looked to the window despite himself. And there, rising into sight, was the pale silver of the full moon.

One more second, and time was up. With a small gasp, Remus stumbled backwards, away from the moon. A sudden pain in his stomach made him hunch over, gasping. His legs gave out beneath him, and he fell to his knees, face screwed up in pain. Fur sprouted all along his body like small needles poking through his skin.

Remus let out a scream as a deep pain reverberated through his head, and his own thoughts were expelled from his mind, taken over by a much darker force.

Panting, the wolf rose on powerful limbs. Its deep amber eyes glinted in the moonlight streaming in from the window, casting eerie shadows across the room. Once, twice it prowled around, sniffing for something to tear into. Finding nothing, it let out a mournful whine, baring its fangs.

It fell upon its own leg, biting hard.

The howl tore from the throat of the beast, full of pain and anger. With vengeful finesse, it began to attack itself, the only thing able to appease the great wolf.

LINE BREAK

When the howl floated up to the open window of the dormitory, Peter buried his face in his pillow, his features wrought with fear. James had his head in his hands, hiding his face from view. Sirius sat alone on his bed, his face horror-stricken and pale, listening to the horrendous howl emanating from the grounds. Remus' empty bed sat there, taunting them.

"Oh, Merlin," James said, his voice muffled by his hands.

In one swift movement, Sirius stood. Stalking over to Remus' bed, he roughly drew the curtains, hiding the empty sheets from view. If they hadn't known better, it would have seemed Remus was simply sleeping.

Peter poked his head out from the fabric. "Sirius-?" he started, eyebrows drawn with worry.

Sirius didn't answer him. Climbing back into his own bed, he jerked the curtains around his bed, hiding him from view. He didn't come back out.

It was a long night for all of them.

LINE BREAK

When Remus came to, it was to Madam Pomfrey leaning over him, frowning.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" she said as he blinked slowly. She looked relieved. "You're alright."

Remus tried to sit up, but the matron gently laid a hand on his chest. "Don't sit up," she warned. "You're not quite strong enough yet."

Frowning, Remus squeezed his eyes shut. His leg felt heavy. When he moved his fingers, they brushed against soft, cool fabric. He was in the hospital wing.

Of course.

Opening his eyes again, he spoke. "How long have I been out?" he asked, voice hoarse.

Pomfrey had busied herself at the bedside table, pouring a glass of water. "Only a few hours," she assured him. "It's four o'clock now. Here, drink, it will make you feel better…"

Remus took the glass grateful, pressing it to his lips. As he drank, Pomfrey continued.

"I'll have you know, your friends have been pestering me to let them in all day, at every single break," the healer said, pursing her lips in irritation. "I don't know how they could possibly know you're here, but that's the only plausible explanation. I happen to know for a fact Potter's leg was not broken in a Flobberworm stampede, as he attempted to convince me…"

Remus choked on his water. Pomfrey laid a hand on his shoulder as he coughed, spluttering for air. When he could breathe again, he flopped back against the pillows, feeling exhausted. His ribs ached from his sudden choking, and his head ached.

Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly, shaking her head. "I don't know what you were so upset about last night," she said in a low voice.

Remus frowned at her. "What do you mean?" he asked quizzically.

Pomfrey swept an eye over him. "You took quite a beating," she said softly. "Snapped your ankle clean in half, you know. Not to mention you sprained your wrist and took a nice blow to the head."

Remus tried to move his foot and found he couldn't. Peeking down to it, he discovered it was wrapped in a hard cast, lying above the blankets for all to see. His wrist, too, was bandaged, and his head was throbbing slightly. He let out a silent sigh. He _knew _he shouldn't have stressed.

"Now, seeing as there is little I can do for werewolf wounds, you will be recovering for quite some time. At least another few-"

There was a furious knock on the door. "Madam Pomfrey!" a voice shouted. "Madam Pomfrey, Peter is _really _sick this time! He puked all over my robes-"

"And my leg is _still_ broken!" someone that sounded suspiciously like James hollered. "Oh, the pain, the PAIN! I think I see the light..."

"Don't go into the light, James!" came Peter's weak voice.

"Madam Pomfrey, I think James is dying! Can we _please _come in?" Sirius called, voice full of fake terror.

Pomfrey's eyes flashed. "Oh, those _boys_!" she hissed. "I should give them detention, I should…"

"Can you let them in?" Remus asked hopefully.

Pomfrey turned to Remus, looking surprised. "Let them in?" she asked. "How could you explain this?"

"Oh, I dunno," Remus said uncomfortably as the matron looked at him closely. He had a feeling she wouldn't approve of them knowing his secret. "Tell them… I was hit by the Whomping Willow last night!"

Pomfrey narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure. What you need is rest, and those three-"

"Still dying! Oh, the cruel world-"

"If only _Remus _were here to help-"

"I'll never trust a Flobberworm again-!"

Pomfrey let out an irritated sound and stomped over to the door. Yanking it open, she revealed three surprised looking boys standing there. James was clutching his heart theatrically, looking up at Pomfrey in shock. When the matron raised an eyebrow at seeing him standing there on both legs, he grabbed his shin, hopping on one leg.

"Oh, my leg," he said with a small gasp. "I really-"

"No need for the theatrics," Pomfrey said sharply.

Sirius smiled hopefully. "So does that mean we can come in?"

Pomfrey glared down at them for another minute before snapping, "Five minutes." She turned and crossed over to her office, muttering under her breath, "Those boys will be the death of me…"

As soon as the door had shut, the three sprinted over to where Remus was lying, looking thoroughly amused.

"Remus!" James said excitedly. "Hey, you're okay!"

"And so are you," Remus noted. "You're quite the actor."

"I am, aren't I?" asked James proudly. He smirked. "I think I had her for a bit."

Sirius snorted, flicking his hair out of his face. "Oh, please," he sneered. Screwing his face into a pout, he said in a high-pitched voice, "_I was attacked by Flobberworms, Madam Pomfrey, they were so _vicious-"

"I'd like to see you do better," James shot at him.

"Gladly," Sirius said, smirking at him.

Rolling his eyes, James turned back to Remus. "So, Remy, how are you?" he asked, worry crossing his features. Casting his eyes up and down his bed-ridden friend, his frown deepened. "You look like you took quite the beating…"

All three of them looked at him. Uncomfortable at being the center of attention, Remus twisted the sheets in his hands, shrugging. "I'm fine," he murmured. "Nothing I haven't done before…"

"Why didn't Madam Pomfrey just heal you?" Peter asked softly, peering at James' cast.

"Werewolf wounds can only be healed halfway," Remus explained. "So I'll be here for a bit, recovering…"

"Did you break your own ankle?" Sirius asked, a strange look passing across his face.

Remus swallowed thickly, shame rising in him. "Yeah," he said, almost inaudibly. "I…. yeah."

The three of them exchanged wide-eyed looks. Remus bowed his head, staring at the white sheets. He couldn't bear to see the look of revulsion that would surely pass across their features- this was what he had been waiting for, been afraid of…

"Well, at least it will heal," James said lightly.

Remus looked back up to see his friends watching him with calm expressions.

"Something wrong?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I… no, but…" Remus spluttered, confused. He frowned. "You guys aren't… I don't know… frightened?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, looking exasperated. "Remus, we've been over this. No, we aren't. You're not going to get rid of us that easily. Besides, who else could handle looking after you?"

Remus narrowed his eyes. "Look after _me_? You guys need a constant _baby-sitter _to keep yourselves out of trouble-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," James said, blinking. "Why would we need someone to sit on a _baby_? First off, that's just cruel. And how would that help keep us out of trouble?"

Remus stared at him. "James, you really need to take Muggle Studies."

"Why?" James asked curiously.

"James' horrid knowledge of Muggles aside, I need to talk to you, Remus," Sirius said, ignoring James' confused look. He narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms. "You need to tell us when it's the full moon. No more of this pretending everything's okay, because we'd rather you be in the hospital wing than out and about. Got it?"

Remus smiled sheepishly. "Got it," he said.

Sirius clapped his hands together. "Good!" he said cheerfully.

Remus leaned farther back against his pillows. "So," he said, "what all did I miss in classes?"

James shot him a look. "Seriously? You want to know what you missed in class?"

"Yes, James," Remus said firmly. "It's important!"

"_I_ would use this excuse to get out of classes for the next, hmm, couple of months," Sirius said, reaching over to fiddle with some potions on the table. He picked up one of the vials lying on the table, holding it close to eyes.

Remus snorted. "The next time you tear yourself to pieces, you can skip all the school you want."

"I'll take that as a challenge," Sirius said with a grin, still examining the potion.

"Put that down, Sirius," Remus said, slightly afraid he would drop it.

Sirius shot him a look. "Who are you, my mother?" he asked. A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "Golly, that's a terrifying thought…"

"Sirius, put the potion down," Remus warned.

Sirius let out an exasperated sigh. Dropping his hand to his side, he said, "Remus, there's no need to worry. I have plenty of hand-eye coordination and I will not-"

James thumped him in the back of the head. Letting out a surprised gasp, Sirius' hand flew to the back of his head, dropping the vial. It smashed on the ground with a tinkling of breaking glass, the potion inside splattering against the stone.

"James!" Sirius cried indignantly.

"You dropped it," James said with a cheerful smile.

"Why you little-"

"Out!" Pomfrey said, sweeping out of her office. She glared at all four of the boys. "I let you stay for only _five _minutes and you smash my potions! Out! Out!"

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey," James said, shooting her a charming smile. "We'll just get out of your way now. Bye, Remus! Feel better!"

The three of them trooped out of the hospital wing, leaving Madam Pomfrey to glare after them.

"Those boys…" she said crossly, shaking her head.

**R&R**


	12. A Declaration of War

**Chapter 12: A Declaration of War**

Peter, Sirius, and James were frequent visitors to the hospital wing for the next week. Madam Pomfrey was reluctant at first, but as she watched the interaction between Remus and the others, she knew she couldn't keep them out. The injured werewolf was always in low spirits when he was alone in the hospital wing, stuck inside while the others were out doing who knows what. But whenever they came around he would light up, grinning and laughing with them.

That was when Madam Pomfrey decided perhaps it was a good idea to let Remus' friends in whenever they wished.

Another visitor to Remus' sick bed was Lily Evans, who would stop by to check if he was alright and work on homework with him. Remus was very grateful for her, but James and Sirius refused to enter the room when she was visiting, engaging in various activities they could only do when Remus wasn't around to stop them, including (but not limited to), messing with Severus.

Remus was finally released a week later when his ankle had fully healed. The boys celebrated with a late-night trip to the kitchens for cake, chatting about all Remus had missed.

November passed by with no significant incidents, melding into December with ease. A week into the month the first snow fell, noticed by Sirius sitting at the window.

"Hey, guys!" he called out eagerly, pressing his nose against the window of their dorm. "It's snowing!"

James hopped off his bed, hurrying over to the window. He poked his head in next to Sirius, staring at the white specks falling from the sky.

"Excellent!" he cheered. "Hey, Remus, come look at this!"

"I've seen snow before, James," Remus replied in a bored tone, focused on revising his Potions essay.

"But it's the first snowfall of the year," Sirius complained. "Come on, let's go outside!"

"We have homework, Sirius!" Remus exclaimed, glancing over at him sharply. "We can go outside later. I need to finish revising this essay, and I know you two haven't even started."

"It's not due until Thursday," James protested.

"So we don't have to start it until Thursday morning!" Sirius chirped in, looking rather pleased with himself.

Remus sighed. "I will never understand how you could procrastinate for so long," he muttered under his breath.

James grinned, looking over at Sirius with a mischievous glint. "Like this!"

The two of them jumped off the windowsill and marched over to Remus' bed. The young werewolf looked up when they were only a foot away, eyebrows furrowing as he wondered what they could want.

"Now, hold up, what are you two- hey, let me go!"

James had seized Remus' arms, pulling him sideways. He let out a cry of indignation as he tumbled off the ground, tangled up in his robes and unable to fight back.

"James!" he shouted, struggling to pull out of James' hold.

"Come on, snow time!" Sirius said cheerfully, grabbing Remus' legs. Together, he and James lifted him off the floor, dangling him between them like a sack of potatoes.

"Let's go, Peter!" James called over his shoulder at the dumbfounded boy sitting on the bed behind them. Shocked out of his daze, Peter scrambled off the bed, hurrying after his two friends and their captive.

"Let me go!" Remus shouted, struggling uselessly in their grip.

"Nope!" Sirius said as they trooped down the stairs into the common room. "You've been studying too long! It's time for a break, and what better way to spend it than in the first snowfall of the year?"

"Help!" Remus yelled, trying to kick Sirius. "Help, I'm being kidnapped!"

"We're just borrowing him," James assured the stunned looking Gryffindors in the common room. One girl opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something before shutting it again, shaking her head and turning away from them to go back to the homework she was working on with her friends.

Apparently they were all too used to the three's antics to do anything anymore.

They made their way out of the portrait, leaving a staring Fat Lady behind them. Sirius gave her a valiant salute as they rounded the corner, grinning cheekily, while Remus still struggled in their grip.

"Let me go!" he yelled, twisting his arm to try to get it out of James' hold.

"Stop fighting!" James exclaimed, frowning down at him. "Honestly, do you know how difficult you're making this?"

"ME?!"

"You guys are making a lot of noise," Peter said anxiously, looking up and down the corridor.

"Peter!" Remus exclaimed. Craning his neck to look at his pudgy friend, he said desperately, "Help! Make them let me down!"

Peter looked uncertainly from Remus to James, who had raised both eyebrows and was shaking his head.

"Sorry, Remus," Peter said, giving him an apologetic smile. "Maybe a break would be kind of fun."

Remus huffed. "Traitor," he muttered.

"I think this would be better if we sang a song!" Sirius declared, smiling cheerfully around as though he hadn't heard a word of the conversation.

Remus turned his eyes to the ceiling, looking as though he was fated to die. "Dear Merlin, please help me."

"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me," James started sweetly, bobbing his head back and forth.

"A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!" Sirius hollered in the worst voice any of them had ever heard.

Peter let out a gasp, purposefully falling back a few steps. Remus winced, wishing he could cover his ears, and James made a face before singing hesitantly, "On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…"

"TWO TURTLE DOVES AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!" Sirius yelled with a pleased expression on his face.

"Kill me now," Remus muttered, his voice muffled by his robes.

James looked like he quite wanted to agree. "On the third day… of… okay, you know what, I can't do this. Sorry, Sirius."

Sirius blinked, looking confused. "Huh? But we didn't finish!"

"Exactly!" Remus called up at him.

"You, er… don't have the best voice, Sirius," James admitted. "It's probably best if we just do this quietly. We don't want to be stopped, anyways."

Sirius frowned sharply, looking put-out. "Whatever," he sniffed, jutting his chin into the air in the hopes of keeping some shred of his dignity.

"You know what would also be best? If you _put me down!_" Remus hissed, still dangling between his two friends. His arms were beginning to hurt, and he was coming uncomfortably close to the ground.

"Nah," James said dismissively, craning his neck to look ahead. "'Sides, we're almost there!"

They tromped down the front steps of the castle into the chilly air outside. A thin layer of snow was already coating the grounds like a dusting of fine sugar, and it was still sprinkling lightly from the overcast sky overhead.

As soon as their feet hit the soft stuff James and Sirius dropped Remus, hurtling themselves into the snow with shouts of laughter.

"Ouch!" Remus cried indignantly, falling headfirst into the wetness.

While Peter bent down to help Remus up, James and Sirius were on their knees, frantically scrambling to form snowballs.

"You're going down, Black!" James shouted, pressing hard on the pile of snow to make it into a ball that would stay together when thrown.

"In your dreams, Potter!" Sirius shouted back, already standing with two perfect snowballs.

He hurled the first at James. It hit his friend squarely in the back, making him stumble in his snowball-making process. Sirius let out a bark of laughter, brushing back his hair and grinning victoriously for his perfect shot.

"Hah! That's for criticizing my singing!" he exclaimed, sticking his tongue out at him.

James whirled around and fired his own snowball. With a gasp, Sirius dropped the ground, leaving the snowball to go whizzing over his head. It instead hit Peter in the chest, making him gasp and fall back in the snow, landing squarely on his behind.

Sirius looked over his shoulder before turning back around with a gloating expression on his face. "Haha! Missed me, missed- oof!"

James' next snowball hit him straight in the face. Sirius spit out a mouthful of snow, coughing to try and dislodge the stuff clinging to the back of his throat, while James rolled around on the floor, clutching his stomach and laughing.

"You're right, I totally missed!" he choked out, launching into another round of laughter.

Sirius glared, leaning down to scoop up another handful of snow. "Oh, it's on, Potter. It is _so _on."

That launched one of the most furious wars Hogwarts had ever seen. Peter was quick to engage in the fighting, although nearly all of his snowballs broke in midair, resulting in a little shower of snow to sprinkle his friends. Sirius and James chucked their weapons as hard as they could, leaping and rolling to avoid getting hit. Remus, to his credit, managed to stay out of it for a good two minutes, staying out of the way of the flying missiles and refusing to do anything besides observe. His stubbornness was tested, however, when Sirius accidentally nailed him in the face with a snowball intended for James.

The fighting came to a temporary standstill. Peter and James were watching with wide-eyes as Sirius stammered out apologies to a frozen Remus.

Very slowly, Remus opened his eyes. He was coated in snow, and his cheeks were a bright pink from the chill outside. He fixed Sirius in a piercing gaze, his eyes glinting, and for a moment Sirius was frightened he was going to be attacked.

"You're dead meat, Sirius," Remus said in a quiet voice.

And he jumped into the fray, sending out snowballs as fast as he could form them. The fighting recommenced, intensifying now that they had four boys. The air was filled with shouts of laughter and declarations of war as they fought, each struggling for dominance.

Remus felt exhilarated. He was coated in snow, wet to the bone, and he couldn't feel his nose-

And it was absolutely fantastic.

He felt so free, lobbing snowballs like any other boy. As the laughter of his friends rang in his ears, he let his own happy sounds escape from his lips, ducking under another projectile. For just one moment, one brief scene in his life, he wasn't Remus Lupin, the terrifying werewolf. He didn't feel exhausted or weighed down by the situation he had been put in. He didn't feel the need to be mysterious and secretive, hiding what he really was from the people who were supposed to know everything about him.

No, for just one second in time, he was just Remus, a twelve-year-old boy engaged in a snowball fight with his friends.

And he absolutely loved it.

* * *

An hour later the boys crept back into the castle, soaking wet and still laughing their heads off. Each of their faces were a rather alarming shade of pink, and they were all shivering in the very thin cloaks they hadn't thought to change out of when they had gone out into the snow.

"I'm c-c-cold," Sirius said through chattering teeth, rubbing his hands together to try and get some friction.

"M-me too," James shivered, panting slightly.

"Hot c-chocolate?" Remus suggested, drawing his cloak tighter around himself in an attempt to keep in any body heat he may have been emitting.

"C-cheers!" Sirius exclaimed, letting out a week smile.

The trudged down to the painting of the fruit. Peter leaned up on the tips of his toes to tickle the pear and the portrait swung open, revealing a door. The four were quick to hurry inside, reveling in the heat from the ovens.

A house elf hurriedly led them over to a table, pulling the chairs out for them to sit. While one fetched them four hot chocolates, another carried over a pile of blankets, holding them out for them to take.

"You looks cold!" he squeaked out with wide eyes. "Blankets?"

"Yes, please!" Sirius said eagerly, snatching a blanket from the pile.

"Thank you," Remus said softly, taking his own and quickly wrapping it around his shoulders.

When they had their hot chocolate and a plate of cookies, the house elves let them be, accustomed to their presence in the kitchens.

"That was fun," James said, grinning around at his friends. His glasses had slid down to the very tip of his nose, slightly lopsided.

"Definitely," Sirius agreed, running a hand through his wet hair.

"I'm tired," Peter yawned, leaning his chin on his fist.

Remus took a deep sip of his hot chocolate, basking in the warmth. When he lowered his mug he found his three friends staring at him with expectant looks on their faces.

"What?" he asked, blinking in surprise.

"Well?" James prompted. "Aren't you going to tell us off for dragging you out there?"

"And interrupting your studies?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes.

"And hitting you in the face with a snowball?" James continued, raising his eyebrows inquisitively.

Remus hesitated, keeping both hands planted firmly on the sides of his hot mug. "You shouldn't have kidnapped me," he started haltingly.

"But you had fun," Sirius said, grinning knowingly.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"Remy had fu-un!" Sirius said in a sing-song voice. "Remy had fu-un!"

"_Sirius_-"

"It beats a boring old essay any day!" James proclaimed, halting the impending argument before it could even start. "Don't you think, Remus?"

Remus bit his lip, furrowing his eyebrows, deep in thought. "I still need to finish my essay!" he exclaimed, sounding slightly panicked. "And it's nearly curfew, oh, no…"

"Remus," Sirius said firmly, stopping him mid-rant. "Calm down. You're already revising; we haven't even started! I'm pretty sure you'll be okay."

"It's due on Thursday, Sirius!" Remus exclaimed, looking at him sharply.

"Exactly," James said in a soothing voice, giving him a charming smile. "So there's no reason to worry, right? We still have a few more days. It's only… um… what day is it again?" he asked, puzzled.

"Wednesday," Remus said dryly.

There was a shocked silence. James and Sirius looked at each other in horror as it dawned on them that they would be having a _very _late night tonight.

"Shoot!" they exclaimed together, sounding panicked.

"Procrastination at its best," Remus sighed, sounding rather pleased. He took a sip of his drink, listening to Sirius and James start to whine.

"We don't have _time_," James protested.

"You know what they say," Remus pointed out, "'Why put off till tomorrow what you can do today?'"

"But that goes against my beliefs!" Sirius said earnestly, leaning closer in as though he was sharing a secret. "It should be, 'Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow!'"

Remus stared at him. "That's a horrible belief."

"It's worked up until now!" Sirius insisted.

James was stroking his chin as though he had an imaginary beard. "What should we do," he said to himself, pursing his lips thoughtfully.

"Do your work?" Remus suggested hopefully.

"Nah, that's dull. Here's an idea! Remus, you can help us!" James said brightly, beaming around the table at his friends.

"No," said Remus flatly, grabbing a cookie from the plate.

"But-"

"No."

"I-"

"_No_, Sirius!"

Sirius and James sat back in their seats with matching huffs, crossing their arms tightly. "Fine," Sirius sighed.

James looked at Sirius out of the corner of his eye. "You know what this means, Sirius?" he asked in a low voice.

Sirius looked appalled. "We'll have to do… our own work! The horrors!"

"Has anyone ever told you two you're _way _overdramatic?" Remus asked.

"It may have popped up once or twice," James said with a shrug. He sighed, reaching for the plate of cookies. "Oh well. We'll do it when we get back. On a more interesting subject, what are you all doing for Christmas?"

Sirius let out a loud groan. "My mum is throwing a Christmas party," he said in a desolate voice. "A whole big party full of Pureblood fanatics and long-lost aunts and uncles who expect me to be the heir to the Black family name. Do you know how dreadful that's going to be? Torture, I tell you, torture! And on Christmas Day, too!"

"That is poor luck, mate," James said sympathetically. He chewed on his bottom lip, staring thoughtfully at the table. "You don't think you could come to my house the day after Christmas, do you? You could stay for the rest of the holidays. We could have a belated Christmas!"

Sirius lit up, sitting up straight in his chair. "You would do that?" he asked eagerly, fixing James in an eager stare.

"'Course!" James said with a grin. "Can't let my buddy get tortured, can I? You can all come over! What are you doing, Pete?"

Peter frowned. "I'm visiting my grandmother," he said quietly. "She's ill. We're going to be gone all of break."

"Oh," James said, looking slightly put-out. He turned on Remus, who didn't look that excited. "Remus?"

The sandy-haired boy looked up, a disappointed expression on his face. "The full moon is the day before Christmas this year," he muttered.

James stared. "So?" he prompted.

Remus gave him an odd look. "I'll be exhausted, James."

James nodded slowly, still looking lost. "So…?"

"I don't want to put a damper on your Christmas," Remus mumbled, staring at his drink.

James let out a laugh. "You, put a damper on Christmas? Never! I'll expect you at my house the day after Christmas then, shall I? It doesn't matter if you're a bit worn out, we'll have a relaxing day."

Remus looked at him incredulously. "You? Relaxing? On a holiday?"

"I can do it!" James said with a pout.

"You've got to come," Sirius announced. "That's final."

Remus looked around at the serious expressions. "Really?" he asked hesitatingly.

"Of course," James said, rolling his eyes. "I'd invite you over on the actual day, but I expect you want to spend that with your mother."

"That must be a nice feeling," Sirius muttered.

Remus hesitated once more, not able to believe they'd be okay with having him over for Christmas even though he'd probably be injured and absolutely exhausted.

"As long as you aren't, you know, terribly injured," James added. "In that case, you should be in the hospital, and we'll visit you there."

Remus rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to go into the hospital, James."

"You were in there for a week in October!" Sirius exclaimed. "You broke your ankle!"

"It won't be that bad," Remus assured him.

"How do you know?" James asked curiously, cocking his head slightly to the side.

Remus sighed. Why had he gotten into this conversation? "Chances are I won't be stressing out before this full moon," he said carefully. "I'm less likely to injure myself if I'm relaxed and have few problems during the full moon. The more upset I am, the tougher I am on myself. On good nights the worst I've had was a couple of scratches."

Sirius looked bewildered. "Why were you so stressed last time?" he asked.

Remus shrugged non-committedly, unsure on how to respond. "I was just… thinking."

A look of realization dawned on James' face. "So, when we fought last year," he started awkwardly, "and you were in the hospital wing for four days…"

Sirius tensed as he always did when the fought was brought up. Remus grimaced. "That was mostly me trying to stay in as long as possible. I didn't exactly want to come out. But no, it wasn't pretty; I expect the fight didn't help me much."

Everyone jumped as Sirius slammed his mug down on the table with a loud bang.

"Sirius!" Remus exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Does sir need more drink?" an elf asked, popping up by Sirius' elbow.

"No, no," Sirius assured him, waving him off. As soon as the elf was gone he turned back to Remus, glaring. "Don't you think this would have been good to know?" he asked sharply.

"What?"

"This is helpful information!" Sirius insisted, still looking bothered. "If we know fighting with you right before the full moon will make it harder on you, we'll try extra-hard to keep our tempers in check, and keep you relaxed."

"You don't-" Remus started hurriedly.

"Yes, we do, that's what friends are for," James said firmly. "Okay, thanks for that, Remus, we'll work on it. You two are coming over the day after Christmas, it's settled, then. We should probably get back to the common room, it's curfew time."

Sirius groaned loudly. "We have to start our essay!" he complained.

Remus snapped himself out of the shocked trance he had gone into. Despite himself, he was slightly surprised by the reaction his simple explanation had gotten, and felt a warm feeling settle over him when he thought of the protective looks on his friends' faces.

"I'll help you," he said quietly, getting to his feet.

James and Sirius stared at him. "What?"

"I'll help you with your essay," he said, raising his voice slightly to be heard. "Mind you, I'm not letting you cheat-"

"Oh, thank you!" Sirius exclaimed, looking overjoyed. "Did you hear that, Jamesie? Remy's helping us!"

"Thanks, mate!" James said with a grin.

"Don't thank me yet," Remus warned, a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. "You've still got a long night ahead of you."

**Next chapter will be Christmas. Please review if you have any comments!**


	13. An Explosive Holiday

**Chapter 13: An Explosive Holiday**

"That's it, James… up, and down, and up, and-"

"I get it, Dad," James sighed, rolling his eyes at his father.

Mr. Potter leaned back in his chair, eyebrows raised doubtfully. "Sorry, sorry. But your mother will kill you if you break another of her vases."

"That was a completely unrelated incident," James said adamantly. He frowned down at the toy in his hand, concentrating on making the yo-yo return to his hand. "This is really cool, Dad."

"I thought you would like it," Mr. Potter said, smiling. He grabbed his newspaper, flicking it open. "A buddy in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department recommended it. He had a bit of trouble with a similar one in October… something about decapitation…" he trailed off thoughtfully.

James' eyes widened slightly as he turned to look at his father. He grabbed the yo-yo, stopping it from going down again. "Er, right. I'm just going to put this down now… Besides, Sirius and Remus will be here any minute now, I should probably go wait for them."

"Alright, James," Mr. Potter called to his son as the boy hurried out of the room.

James practically flew through the hallway, skidding around a corner and nearly slamming his face into the wall twice. He bounded into the parlor, where the fireplace stood, empty and cold.

He flopped down in a delicately embroidered armchair- a favorite of his mother's. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. He wondered idly who would be the first to arrive; chances were it was going to be Sirius arriving as soon as he possibly could, wanting to get away from his horrid family as soon as he possibly could. James felt a twinge of sorrow shoot through him at the idea of Sirius so eager to arrive at his friend's house so soon after the holiday. That party had to have been absolutely horrible for him, especially with all his family coming to his house. James was glad he had been able to escape this year, even if it had to be the day after Christmas.

Remus, on the other hand, would probably struggle to get away from his mother. The boys had decided beforehand that it was probably better if they didn't tell anyone they knew Remus' secret- including his mother and James' parents. It would only make things more complicated. Remus had already remarked before break that his mother would think him mad for wanting to come to James' house so soon after the full moon, especially since he would probably be tired and exhausted. Not exactly the best way to go about keeping one's secret. Not like it mattered anymore, anyway.

James smiled a bit, wiggling his bare toes in the air. This year had been _much _better than last year between the four friends. Knowing Remus' secret had made things a lot easier, and there was no more doubts in the air between them. Last year it had been very hard for them to really connect, due to the secrets lying between them. But now they were fine, better than ever.

James blinked in surprise as a crackling noise filled the air. He looked over at the fireplace to see it flickering with emerald green flames, signifying the arrival of one of his friends. The smile on James' face grew tenfold as he leapt to his feet, eagerly watching the fire to see who would emerge.

Sirius poked his head out of the flames, looking around the room. When he spotted James, he grinned. "Hello, mate."

"Sirius!" James came forward to help tug Sirius' luggage out of the fireplace, trying not to get soot on the carpets. When they had lugged his trunk out, James wiped his hands off, grinning at his friend. "'Bout time you showed up!"

"I'm two minutes early," Sirius reminded him, glancing at the clock on the mantel. "Remus here yet?"

"No, you're first. How are you?" James asked, his brows coming together slightly as he frowned.

Sirius looked away from him, facing the fireplace. "I'm fine," he said shortly. "Have a nice Christmas?"

James narrowed his eyes, but moved on. "Yes, it was excellent. I got everything I wanted. Well… almost everything, I suppose. There was this one Quidditch-"

The fireplace roared to life again, surprising the two. James jumped away, and Sirius stumbled over his trunk, falling backwards and banging his head on the floor.

"Ow!"

"Sirius? James?"

"Remy!" Sirius poked his head up, still lying on his back. "A little warning next time, please."

"Here," James said, shaking himself off and stepping forward. He grabbed Remus' trunk and lugged it out of the flames for him. "I think you startled Sirius."

"Oi! You were startled, too!" Sirius exclaimed, scrambling to his feet.

Remus stepped out of the fireplace, eyebrows raised as he surveyed the scene in front of him. He frowned slightly. "Is this a bad time…?"

"It's never a bad time!" James declared. He turned his gaze to Remus, who was watching the exchange with great interest. "And how are _you_?" he asked, deciding to give the question another try with someone who would hopefully answer truthfully.

Remus looked absolutely exhausted. His face was pale, and there were dark bags rimming his eyes. He held his arm gingerly; he was obviously injured. Nevertheless, he smiled at James, looking pleased to see his friend.

"I'm alright," he said. "Bit tired. I'm glad to be away from my mum, though; she's been worrying for the past few days about me coming here so soon after… you know. But I managed to convince her you guys wouldn't suspect anything."

Sirius stood up straight, giving Remus a salute. "We'll do our best to be completely ignorant of your state," he said with a stoic expression.

"That shouldn't be very hard."

"Hey!"

"James? Are Sirius and Remus here?"

Mrs. Potter poked her head into the room. Her dark hair, peppered with strands of gray, was pulled back in a messy bun. A streak of flour dusted her cheek, and the apron she wore was completely covered in the white stuff, making it look as though she had just rolled around in a pile of snow.

"Hey Mrs. P," Sirius said, grinning at her. "I'm back!"

"Sirius!" Mrs. Potter came forward and wrapped him in a motherly hug. Sirius returned it wholeheartedly, not seeming to care he was getting covered in flour. "Oh, it's so good to see you again, dear."

"You too," Sirius said as he pulled back.

Mrs. Potter turned to Remus, her face softening as it always did when she saw him. "Remus, darling, I'm glad you could come," she said, pulling him into an embrace. "You look absolutely exhausted," she said quietly into his ear.

"Full moon two days ago," he whispered back.

Mrs. Potter nodded. She pulled back, smiling at him. "Happy Christmas to both of you. I'm glad you could come to celebrate, even if it is a day late. James' father is just in the other room… You'll be staying in the same rooms as last time, James will help you with your things."

"Thank you Mrs. Potter," Sirius and Remus recited together.

Mrs. Potter smiled once more before sweeping out of the room.

"Right then," said James, clapping his hands together. "If you will follow me, I will show you to your living facilities…"

Remus stifled a laugh. "_Living facilities_?"

"Shut up, Remus, I'm trying to be fancy. Pip pip, let's go!" James declared, jutting his chin in the air. He turned and marched out of the room, head held high.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a look. "I suppose things are back to normal, hmm?" Sirius asked.

Remus sighed. "You're telling me."

Together, they hefted their trunks up and trudged after James, struggling to not ram their luggage into any of the Potters' artwork hanging on the walls.

* * *

"And then he said, 'I don't care if the ladder ran off- just give me the damn teapot!'" Mr. Potter finished with a roar of laughter.

The boys burst out laughing as well. James slammed his hand against the table, trying to control himself, and Sirius was practically hanging off his chair, his face a bright red. Mrs. Potter took a sip of her water, struggling to restrain a smile.

"Charles," she admonished, "no swearing at the dinner table."

Mr. Potter dismissed her worries with a wave of his hand. "Lighten up, Mary, it's not as if they didn't hear these things at school."

"Doesn't mean we have to be uncivilized during Christmas dinner," she said, shooting him a look.

The three boys and James' parents were seated around the dining room table, which had been lavishly decorated and stuffed to the brim with food. There was a full roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes, assorted vegetables, and homemade bread, all prepared specially by Mrs. Potter. Any space that wasn't taken up by food or dishes was covered in confetti and an assortment of firecrackers, which the boys had been amusing themselves with throughout the whole affair. A small pile of items lay next to their plates, eagerly claimed as soon as they popped out of the confetti.

"Here," Sirius said, snatching a firecracker off the table. He turned to Remus, who sat next to him. "Let's see what's in this one!"

Remus turned in his seat, grinning. He was wearing a yellow paper crown, squashed onto his head by James at the beginning of the meal. He took one end of the firecracker and pulled hard, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid getting hit with confetti.

"A crown!" Sirius said gleefully; he had been trying to get one the entire meal. He pulled it out of the scraps, unfolding it. Holding it in front of him, the smile slowly died from his face. "It…"

"Suits you just great, Siri!" James declared, snatching the hot pink crown from his friends' hands. He slammed it on Sirius' head, patting it down. "There ya go; it matches your eyes!"

Sirius crossed his eyes at James, making a face, but he could not bring himself to be annoyed with anyone today. He reached for another roll, tearing off a piece and shoving it in his mouth.

Remus took a sip of water, feeling comfortably full. He had never had this much food outside of Hogwarts in his entire _life_. He had been quite uncomfortable at the beginning of the meal, never having experienced a holiday feast such as this, but had lightened up reasonably quickly when Mr. Potter had started telling funny stories about his job at the Ministry. The food was delicious, even better than that at Hogwarts- and that was saying something. Mrs. Potter was definitely the best cook Remus had ever encountered. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around the fact that this was how James had grown up.

"Hmm," James said, a thoughtful look crossing his face. He reached for a neon green firecracker, holding it directly in front of his face and squinting at it. "I never quite understood why two people had to pull these things to get it open. I have two hands, so I should just be able to-"

He seized both ends of the firecracker and pulled at the same time his parents screamed, "JAMES! NO!"

There was a small explosion. A plume of smoke and confetti rose to the ceiling, leaving James shrouded in it. When the smoke cleared, it revealed his face, completely coated in black soot and glitter. When he took off his glasses and opened his eyes, they were a shocking white against his pitch black face.

"Agh," he spluttered, coughing the dust out of his throat. As Sirius and Remus erupted into laughter, he fumbled for his water glass, blinking to try and get the dust out of his eyes. He seized the glass and brought it to his mouth, taking a big drink and for the most part missing his mouth completely.

"Suggestion," he said hoarsely, setting down his water. "Don't do that."

"There's a warning on the box, James!" Mrs. Potter scolded him from across the table. "Why would you do that?"

"That- was- hilarious!" Sirius choked out, his crown half-hanging off his head as he laughed.

"For you, maybe," muttered James crossly. He frowned in front of him, picking up the object that had fallen from the firecracker. "A book? I went through all that for a bloody _book_? The history of the Goblin Crusades- _what_?"

Sirius had begun to laugh even harder at James' bewildered expression. James scowled at his friend, handing the book over to Remus. "Here you go, Remy, this kind of stuff interests you."

Remus took the book, plopping it on the top of his pile. "I would clean your glasses off," he suggested, shooting the object a glance.

James held them up. The lenses were completely covered in black soot. He picked a piece of confetti off of them, flicking it away. "This'll take forever!" he complained. Shrugging, he folded them up and stuck them in his pocket. "Guess I'm going blind tonight."

"I think it's time for dessert," Mrs. Potter declared, getting to her feet. "Boys, will you help me bring this food in?"

Sirius groaned as he got up. "I'm so stuffed, I don't think I could eat another bite."

"Wait till you see Mum's desserts," James said, picking up what was left of the turkey. With his black hair standing straight up on his head and his serious expression, he looked rather absurd. "You'll find room. Trust me."

"I hope," Sirius said, grabbing the vegetables. "I love dessert!"

When they had gotten everything cleaned up and stored away in the kitchen, the boys tromped back to the table, where Mr. Potter was reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee. They sat back down in their seats, waiting for Mrs. Potter to unveil her final course.

"I hope she made pie," Sirius said eagerly, craning his neck to try and see into the kitchen.

James blew air out of his nose, making a face. "I think there's glitter in my nose."

Remus chuckled, tossing him a napkin. "Here."

James snatched it out of the air. Blowing his nose, he held it back, looking at it. "Yup. Glitter."

"Here we are!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed, sweeping into the dining room. Even Mr. Potter looked up from his paper to watch with wide eyes as she set down two pies, one apple, one cherry; a plate of treacle tarts; Christmas pudding; and a huge bowl of ice cream, complete with a dish of whipped cream on the side.

"You're right. I am hungry again," Sirius said, seizing the apple pie with a wolfish grin on his face.

"Treacle tarts?" James asked, eyeing the plate distastefully. He wrinkled his nose slightly. "Yuck, Mum, who eats those?"

"_I _like them," Mr. Potter said in defense of the treat, snatching one off the top of the pile pointedly.

"Besides," Sirius said, grinning at him, "it's Lily Evans' favorite."

James frowned. "And that matters because...?"

Sirius exchanged a look with Remus. "Nothing," he said in a sing-songey voice. "Just an observation I picked up over the last year."

James shrugged, reaching out to grab a slice of apple pie. "I dunno why you keep bringing her up…"

Sirius shook his head. "Oblivious," he coughed, making Remus grin.

The young werewolf scooped some ice cream onto his plate before grabbing a treacle tart, much to James' disgust. He was nearly stuffed to the brim with food, but he managed to find some space for the dessert; the tart was perfectly made and wonderfully sweet, and the ice cream was light and creamy.

He was fine for the next few minutes, in which the occupants of the table made small talk about the boy's various exploits at school, and their multiple detentions. Then, a wave of exhaustion crashed over him at the same time his head pounded painfully. He paused, his spoon still halfway through scooping up his next bite of ice cream, and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to brush it off.

"Remus?"

Remus opened his eyes to find everyone else staring at him. James was frowning. "You alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Remus said, shaking his head as if to get rid of the headache. The only thing that succeeded in doing, however, was make him dizzy. He dropped his spoon to grip the table, keeping him steady. The utensil clattered onto the dish, breaking the silence that was growing in the dining room.

"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Mrs. Potter asked from across the table. She was studying Remus closely. "You look rather pale."

Remus forced a smile at her. "Just, um- tired, I guess."

Her eyes widened. She exchanged a knowing look with her husband before glancing swiftly at Sirius and James, worry crossing her face. She quickly tried to formulate a plan to get him to bed without alerting James and Sirius to his condition.

Even as this happened, Sirius and James exchanged knowing looks of their own. They nodded to each other behind Remus' back, setting down their utensils.

"What a night," James said with a large, obviously fake yawn.

"I think it's time for bed," Sirius agreed, rubbing his eyes. "What do you think, Remus?"

Remus looked back and forth, struggling to keep a grateful expression from emerging onto his face. "I am exhausted," he said, nodding. "Let's get to bed."

"Right then," James said, hopping to his feet. "Mum, dinner was fantastic, but we're just about dead on our feet. Do you mind if we skip out on the rest of dishes?"

Mrs. Potter watched with a puzzled expression as Sirius loaded both his and Remus' gifts into his arms without even consulting Remus about it. Even more curious was the fact that Remus didn't even look surprised by the help, but simply heaved himself to his feet, blinking a few times as he steadied himself. By now she knew it was an aftereffect of the full moon, very common in werewolves, but it didn't explain how the other two knew exactly when to call it quits. They were obviously acting about being tired, judging from the way James was hopping from foot to foot impatiently. Unless…

"You three can help in the morning," she said, nodding. "Goodnight, and happy Christmas, again."

James grinned. "Thanks, Mum. Night."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," Sirius and Remus said, already turning to the door.

James' parents watched as the three slowly shuffled out of the room. James and Sirius stood on either side of Remus, matching their pace easily to his. They were muttering between them, talking about something over their gifts.

When they had disappeared from the room, Mrs. Potter set her fork down, still staring at the place they had disappeared. She rested her head on her fist thoughtfully, her dark eyes calculating.

"You don't think…" she trailed off.

"They can't know," Mr. Potter said, shaking his head.

Slowly, Mrs. Potter turned toward her husband. A smile was slowly spreading across her face. "Oh, they must," she said, sounding pleased. "And this means everything is still normal between them. Oh, honey- Remus must be so excited!"

Mr. Potter smiled, going back to his treacle tart. "The kid deserves it," he said, biting into the dessert.

* * *

The three had grouped in Remus' room, spread out. Remus was sitting on the bed next to James, while Sirius was draped across the armchair, looking through the pile of goods in his lap. Remus was thumbing through the book, his head leaning back against the wall as he rested.

"Thanks, guys," he said, looking over at them.

"No problem," James said, rubbing at his face with a towel. When he brought it down, it was covered in soot, but his face was much cleaner. "Man, this stuff is never going to come off…"

"What happened?" Sirius asked, tapping an hourglass he had received to make the sand inside run faster.

Remus sighed, running a finger along the embossing on the front cover. "I'm still ill and exhausted, I suppose. I'm feeling better now; it just kind of hit me. I should be fine after a good night's rest."

"That's swell," Sirius said, nodding. "I want to play basketball again tomorrow! You still have that, right, James?"

James coughed, playing for time. "Uh- I think, in the shed, maybe, but wouldn't you rather play, I don't know- Quidditch? Or chess? Or-"

"Just because you're not very good at basketball-"

"That has nothing to do with it!" James said, looking scandalized. He jutted his chin into the air stubbornly. "Fine, we'll play basketball tomorrow. I'll show you- I'll beat both of you!"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "You wish, Potter. You're going down!"

"You'll feel my wrath!" James declared.

"I'll dibble circles around you!"

"Dribble," James corrected, rolling his eyes.

"Bless you."

"Guys," Remus interrupted as James opened his mouth again. He sighed, resting his head back. "Please, stop fighting. We all know I'm going to be the one to win tomorrow."

James and Sirius stared at him in surprise. Then they both grinned. "Oh, wanna bet, Remy?" Sirius offered.

Remus waggled his eyebrows. "As if you had money to bet, Sirius, you squander it all on dung bombs and candy."

"Oh, really?" Sirius dug in his pocket for money, bringing out two Galleons. "I bet that I'll get more balls in the basket then either of you tomorrow," he said, dropping them on Remus' desk.

James dug his own two Galleons out of his pocket. "Deal!" he said, slapping it on top of Sirius' money.

A light frown crossed Remus' face. He reached into his own pocket, closing his hand around his last Galleon. It was stupid to bet it. He would probably need it. What was he doing, betting on a basketball match? He should save it, and just watch from the sidelines; he wouldn't be in the best shape tomorrow, anyways, and he wanted to spend his money on more useful things, maybe in Diagon Alley over the summer. He very rarely got money, anyways; he shouldn't risk it on a stupid bet.

Snatching up another Galleon he had gotten out of a firecracker that night, he slid both coins over to the pile. "I'll take you up," he said. _What am I doing_?

"Excellent!" Sirius exclaimed, looking excited. "Whoever dunks the most balls in the basket tomorrow takes all. Deal?"

"Deal!" James and Remus said together.

"Now," Sirius said, getting to his feet, "I'd better get to bed. I want to get plenty of rest so I look fabulous when I _beat _you two tomorrow."

"You wish!" James exclaimed, scrabbling out of the bed as Sirius sauntered out of the room. "Night, Remus!" he called over his shoulder as he shut the door.

Remus heard the two pairs of footsteps retreat to their respective rooms. The doors shut. Remus looked over at the pile of coins on his desk; they glinted in the light from his lamp, taunting him.

It'd be awesome if he won, but he knew he wouldn't. The only thing he had over them was more experience, but they were fast catching up; Sirius was probably just as good as he was, if not better. James… well, Remus supposed it was possible he could get lucky. And he had been playing a lot of Quidditch, which had probably helped him greatly; chances were he'd have a major increase in his basketball skills tomorrow. Remus, however, was horrid at sports, and could only get a basket with prayers and a lot of focus. If Remus lost his money, he couldn't get any more from his mother.

Remus sighed, leaning back against his pillows wearily. Oh well. He would have to wait and see what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

**Who do you guys think is going to win?**

**R&R**


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